Key West International Airport Ad-Hoc Committee on Airport Noise

Agenda for Tuesday, March 5th, 2019

Call to Order 2:00 pm Harvey Government Center

Roll Call

A. Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes 1. For October 2nd, 2018 B. Ad-Hoc Committee Member 1. Welcome new member Andrea Haynes, Signature Flight Support, as Alternate Aviation Representative C. Discussion of NIP Implementation 1. Status of Construction of Building B, Floors 3-6 (34 units) 2. Final Bid Document Preparation & Bidding of KWBTS Building C D. Other Reports: 1. Noise Hotline and Contact Log 2. Airport Noise Reports E. Other Discussion

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the County Administrator's Office, by phoning (305) 292-4441, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., no later than five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call "711".

1 KWIA Ad-Hoc Committee on Noise October 2nd, 2018 Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order by Commissioner Dany Kolhage at 2:00 P.M.

ROLL CALL:

Committee Members in Attendance: Commissioner Danny Kolhage Peter Horton Nat Harris Sonny Knowles Marlene Durazo Dr. Julie Ann Floyd (via telephone) Harvey Wolney Norma Faraldo

Staff and Guests in Attendance: Richard Strickland, Monroe County Director of Airports Thomas J. Henderson, Monroe County Assistant Director of Airports Deborah Lagos, DML & Associates Steve Vecchi, THC Andrea Haynes, Signature Flight Support Michelle Gibson, Community David Strobele, Community

A quorum was present. Commissioner Dany Kolhage chaired the meeting.

Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes for the March 6th and June 5th, 2018 Ad Hoc Committee Meeting

Commissioner Dany Kolhage asked if there were any comments or corrections to the minutes. None were mentioned. Marlene Durazo made a motion to approve the minutes; Nat Harris seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as presented.

Ad-Hoc Committee Members

Andrea Haynes of Signature Flight Support introduced herself and indicated she would be interested in representing Aviation on the Ad-Hoc Committee.

Dr. Julie Ann Floyd made a motion to nominate Andrea Haynes; Sonny Knowles seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

Ad-Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 2 October 2, 2018

2 KWIA Ad-Hoc Committee on Noise October 2nd, 2018 Meeting Minutes

BOCC Meeting – September 19, 2018

Deborah Lagos reviewed the items approved by the BOCC related to the NIP.

Discussion of NIP Implementation

Steve Vecchi provided a Power Point Presentation including the following items:

1. KWBTS Master Phasing Plan Review 2. NIP Pilot Project Update 3. Update of KWBTS Asbestos Testing 4. Building B (Floors 3-6) Construction Progress 5. Building C Design Review Process Update 6. Building C Construction Plan and Challenges

Other Reports

Noise Hotline and Contact Log

Deborah reviewed the five calls received on the hotline. The call from Nathaniel Harris about a drone operating over Las Brisa prompted a discussion of drone operations and FAA regulations.

Airport Noise Report

The following articles were discussed:

1. Volume 30, Number 17, “JesSuite is Launch Customer for Zunum Regional Hybrid-Electric Aircraft,” 2. Volume 30, Number 19, “Enzyme Responsible for Vascular Damage from Aircraft Noise Identified,” 3. Volume 30, Number 19, “NASA Research Center Evaluating Noise of Future Aircraft,” 4. Volume 30, Number 19, “Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Flies Alone,” and

Any Other Discussion

Two residents from Bertha Street expressed their concern over the level of aircraft noise at their recently-purchased home.

Peter Horton moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Nat Harris. The meeting adjourned at approximately 2: 42 pm.

Ad-Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 2 October 2, 2018

3 Key West International Airport Noise Hotline Log

Time of Date of call Caller Contact information Message call There has been a noticeable increase in 11/2/2018 1:11 PM Eric Van Hove 3704 Flagler Ave aircraft noise at his house recently. One of the local seaplanes going out to the La Brisa full-time Port flew right across La Brisa. This was 1/5/2019 12:23 PM Nathaniel Harris resident not necessary. The wind was out of the Northwest. She is the new owner of this house and called to find out about the NIP. She was 1/23/2019 Susan Phillips 2827 Venetian told she was eligible, but it would be several years before her turn.

G:\EYW\Ad-Hoc Committee\Call Log Page 1 of 1 4 2/23/2019 Gmail - 3704 Flagler airplane noise

Deborah Lagos

3704 Flagler airplane noise 7 messages

Eric Thu, Nov 8, 2018 at 9:11 AM To: [email protected]

Hi Deborah,

I have called the noise hot line last week in and left a voicemail regarding the increased airplane noise by my house. I believe it is a mixture of commercial and military planes. For example today I have heard three different planes loudly from inside my house at 8:56am, 8:58am and 9:02am. Yesterday I heard louder planes at 8:14am 11:11am and 12:01pm. Please advise if I should continue documenting the noise.

Sincerely,

Eric Van Hove 305 304 2553 3704 Flagler Ave.

Eric Wed, Nov 28, 2018 at 1:40 PM To: [email protected]

Hi again Deborah. As per our conversation at the beginning of the month, these are the following times I have heard airport noise.

11/8 8:56am 8:58am 9:02 am 9:23am 9:34am 12:07 pm 12:54pm 12:58pm 1:09pm 9:03pm 9:07pm

11/9 7:54am 8:18am 8:53am 9:01am 9:17am 9:23am 9:31am 9:36am

11/11 6:07pm

11/12 11:16 am 1:10pm

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ik=655a6cabc0&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1616575247282691112&simpl=msg-f%3A161657524725 … 1/7 2/23/2019 Gmail - 3704 Flagler airplane noise 11/13 10:25am 10:27am 10:46 am 11:32am 11:44am 12:11pm

11/15 2:20pm

11/16 1:44pm

11/17 10:23am 10:57am 11:00am 11:02am 12:12pm right over my house (small plane) 12:31pm 3:15pm 3:40pm 3:50pm 4:35pm

11/18 11:26am 11:28am 1:19pm 1:33pm 1:40pm 6:05pm

11/20 12:22pm 12:29pm 12:44pm 12:45pm 12:53pm 1:19pm 4:20pm 4:25pm 4:33pm 4:45pm 5:31pm

11/21 9:45am 10:45am 10:53am 11:02am coast guard helicopter 12:00pm maybe helicopter again 12:12pm 12:17pm 1:41pm 5:29pm

11/22 8:14am 8:45am https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ik=655a6cabc0&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1616575247282691112&simpl=msg-f%3A161657524726 … 2/7 2/23/2019 Gmail - 3704 Flagler airplane noise 8:52am 11:38am 1:27pm 2:01pm 2:38pm 4:21pm 7:05pm

11/23 8:38am 1:46pm 4:27pm

11/24 8:40am

11/26 11:34am 12:30pm 3:06pm

11/28 11:37am 12:22pm 12:46pm 12:53pm 1:35pm

Please advise if I should continue tracking the noise while I am at my house.

Sincerely,

Eric Van Hove 305 304 2553

Begin forwarded message:

[Quoted text hidden]

Deborah Lagos Fri, Nov 30, 2018 at 12:28 PM To: [email protected]

Hi Eric,

If you feel there has been an increase in aircraft noise that is bothering you, please continue to track and report it to me. Your house is located close to the airport, so I am not surprised you are hearing aircraft noise. However, if it seems to have increased in frequency and/or intensity, please let me know.

THANKS! Deborah

Deborah Murphy Lagos & Associates, LLC 4635 Alisa Circle NE Saint Petersburg, FL 33703 727.631.1553 [email protected]

[Quoted text hidden]

Eric Sun, Dec 30, 2018 at 12:32 PM https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ik=655a6cabc0&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1616575247282691112&simpl=msg-f%3A161657524727 … 3/7 2/23/2019 Gmail - 3704 Flagler airplane noise To: Deborah Lagos

Hi Deborah,

I do think the airport noise has increased. Here are some more of my recent times where I can hear the planes inside my house.

12/5 10:47 11:19 13:08

12/6 11:29 11:48 11:58 12:02 12:03 12:04 12:13 12:23 12:25 12:27 12:29 12:30 12:34 12:38 12:40 12:45 13:14 13:44 13:54 14:35 14:37 14:52 14:59 15:22 15:26 15:32 15:38 15:57 16:41

12/7 10:41 11:08 11:45 11:49 11:52 11:56 12:03 12:06 12:09 12:12 12:18 12:20 12:22 12:35 14:41 https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ik=655a6cabc0&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1616575247282691112&simpl=msg-f%3A161657524728 … 4/7 2/23/2019 Gmail - 3704 Flagler airplane noise 14:45 14:49 14:57 15:11 15:30 15:33 15:39 15:44 15:48 16:05 16:08 16:13 16:31 16:41 16:56 16:58 17:07 17:39 18:00 18:05 18:11 18:15 18:27 18:32 18:39 18:53 19:09 19:12

12/8 9:05 9:17 13:14 13:26 13:34 13:43 13:55

14:13 14:23 14:45 15:09

12/9 12:33 12:44 16:11 17:01

12/10 12:36

12/11 9:31 10:27 10:56 11:24 12:27 18:13 18:58 19:19 20:21 https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ik=655a6cabc0&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1616575247282691112&simpl=msg-f%3A161657524729 … 5/7 2/23/2019 Gmail - 3704 Flagler airplane noise

12/12 8:28 8:35 8:51 9:00 9:07 16:05 16:00 14:16 16:25 14:33 15:32 15:56 16:05 17:05 17:06 17:08 17:54

12/14 18:57

12/18 20:56

12/19 20:21 21:09 21:34

12/23 9:55 9:57 18:31

12/24 20:53

12/25 17:17 17:21

12/26 19:36

12/27 8:39

12/29 11:11 11:27 12:58 13:46

12/30 11:01 11:09 11:27 https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ik=655a6cabc0&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1616575247282691112&simpl=msg-f%3A1616575247210 … 6/7 2/23/2019 Gmail - 3704 Flagler airplane noise 12:13 12:28

Thank you,

Eric Van Hove [Quoted text hidden]

Deborah Lagos Mon, Dec 31, 2018 at 2:30 PM To: Eric

Thank you! I will share your concerns with Monroe County's Ad-Hoc Committee on Noise. Their next meeting is March 5, 2019.

Deborah Murphy Lagos & Associates, LLC 4635 Alisa Circle NE Saint Petersburg, FL 33703 727.631.1553 [email protected]

[Quoted text hidden]

Eric Sat, Feb 23, 2019 at 2:09 PM To: Deborah Lagos

Is this something I can/should attend?

Eric Van Hove [Quoted text hidden]

Deborah Lagos Sat, Feb 23, 2019 at 2:33 PM To: Eric

Yes, the meeting is open to the public, and you are welcome to attend. One purpose of the committee is to provide a forum for people like yourself to express their concerns about aircraft noise.

If you decide to attend, the meeting is held at the Harvey Government Center, 1200 Truman Ave, on the second floor, in the BOCC meeting room. It starts at 2:00 and usually lasts about an hour.

I'm working on the agenda package right now, and I'll email you a copy when it's finished.

Deborah Murphy Lagos & Associates, LLC 4635 Alisa Circle NE Saint Petersburg, FL 33703 727.631.1553 [email protected]

[Quoted text hidden]

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ik=655a6cabc0&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1616575247282691112&simpl=msg-f%3A1616575247211 … 7/7 131 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 33 October 5, 2018

FAA Annoyance Survey In This Issue… SURVEY RESULTS INDICATE COMMUNITIES HIGHLY ANNOYED BEYOND 65 DNL CONTOUR Annoyance Survey ... An According to a May 3 Airports Council International – North America docu- ACI-NA confidential document – marked “Confidential, For ACI-NA Member Use Only” – there are “indica- ment says there are “indica- tions” that FAA’s long-awaited analysis of the results of its survey of aircraft tions” that the long-overdue annoyance in communities around 20 U.S. airports will show that: results of FAA’s annoyance survey of communities • Communities have notably different levels of sensitivity to aircraft noise; and around 20 U.S. airports will • Communities are highly annoyed by noise in areas beyond 65 DNL, the cur- show that communities have rent threshold for residential compatibility with airports and the point at which notably different levels of most federal sound insulation funding stops. sensitivity to aircraft noise and that communities are The ACI-NA document notes that the annoyance survey results will not be ac- highly annoyed by aircraft companied by any changes to FAA’s current aircraft noise policy, although results will be used by FAA to develop “science-based” noise policy in the future. noise in areas beyond the 65 dB DNL contour - p. 131 (Continued on p. 132) San Francisco Int’l ... SFO will use GBAS, which aug- San Francisco Int’l ments the accuracy of GPS, to fine tune aircraft arrival SFO USING GBAS TO FINE TUNE ARRIVALS, paths and reduce noise im- REDUCE NOISE IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES pact on communties - p. 131 San Francisco International Airport has embarked on a project to use the Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) to fine tune aircraft arrivals and re- FAA Reauthorization ... The duce their noise impact on communities below that are located under concentrated Senate finally approves the NextGen flight paths. new FAA reauthorization bill GBAS approaches into SFO could allow aircraft to fly at slightly higher altitudes on on their initial and intermediate approach legs into SFO, to descend on a and its many noise provi- slightly steeper angle on final approach, and to land farther down the runway on sions sought by community displaced thresholds. groups. The leader of Queens Asked how much higher on approach altitudes could be raised with GBAS, Quiet Skies says passage of Doug Yakel, Public Affairs Officer for SFO, told ANR, “We’re still studying alti- the legislation provides an tudes and their potential noise benefit, but we fully expect that any increases in alti- opportunity and incentive for tudes will come incrementally. “GBAS procedures will initially mirror existing procedures, then seek to in- communities and the aviation crease altitudes over communities incrementally, aided by future iterations which industry to “enter into a ra- include procedures for aircraft to land further down our runways. We’d also be tional dialogue” on NextGen - p. 133 (Continued on p. 133)

Airport Noise Report 12 October 5, 2018 132

FAA Survey, from p. 131 ______ACI-NA’s documents show airports’ concern with how the annoyance survey results will be released to the public The annoyance survey was conducted to determine if and their desire to be part of that process. there has been a shift over time in people’s annoyance with The ACI-NA documents may have been removed from civil aviation noise at varied sound levels. the internet. ANR could not find them again in an Oct. 4 If FAA’s survey shows there has been a shift, as some Eu- search. ropean annoyance surveys have found, then FAA’s current dose-response curve for annoyance – which indicates that Airports Want Only One Dose-Response Curve only about 12% of people are highly annoyed by aircraft FAA originally planned to identify the 20 airports in- noise at a level of 65 dB DNL – will need to be revised. cluded in the annoyance survey and release individual dose- The World Health Organization’s European office will response curves (relating level of aircraft noise exposure to issue updated environmental noise guidelines next week on degree of annoyance) but the agency is now reconsidering Oct. 10, which are expected to include a new dose-response that approach in light of airports’ concerns, the ACI-NA con- curve for aircraft annoyance. So, we will soon see how the fidential document explains. WHO curve differs from the so-called “Schultz Curve” that ACI-NA said it is advocating that FAA only release one FAA relies on, which is a compilation of community response dose-response curve and give at least one week’s notice to the data on aircraft annoyance from the 1970s. 20 airports that the curve is being released. ACI-NA said in its confidential document that it will con- FAA plans to provide ACI-NA with some advanced notice tinue to stress the importance of having appropriate stake- and review of highlights of the results. The airport trade holders involved in policy development if the FAA’s group said it is working with FAA for as much notice as pos- annoyance survey is issued without policy recommendations. sible. The airport trade group said it will consider the survey re- “FAA (Acting Deputy Administrator, Carl Burleson) has sults release without policy recommendations to be “the be- said to ACI-NA in meetings they will consider our input, and, ginning of the conversation,” and will consider it to be based on our input, appears to be reconsidering the plan to “premature to speculate about mitigation measures.” identify the 20 [airports in the survey] individually. FAA Of course, the mitigation measure that airports and air- stated they are committed to a single National approach on lines are most concerned about is residential sound insulation noise policy, and do not want to return to the patchwork of and how it will be funded if the 65 DNL contour (the current the early 1990s. They also note that communities truly do boundary within which homes are eligible for federally have different levels of tolerance and annoyance, and they funded sound insulation) is expanded out to the 60 DNL con- have to consider how to handle this.” tour line. That expansion would make hundreds of thousands “ … FAA said they are committed to working with ACI- of additional homes eligible for sound insulation funding NA and the airlines on how to frame the conversation. They through FAA’s Airport Improvement (grant) Program and also said they do not want to surprise the stakeholders and Passenger Facility Charge revenue. that the data will be released with a story,” the ACI-NA docu- It has already costs billions of federal dollars to insulate ment states. homes within the 65 DNL contour. It would likely take additional billions to insulate out to the 60 DNL contour. Community Outreach Must Be Coordinated ACI-NA stressed the importance of community outreach Don’t Have Full Story on Results Delay regarding the annoyance survey results and said airports and FAA was expected to release its annoyance survey results FAA “must be coordinated in that effort.” by June but did not do so. Asked why, FAA told ANR, “We “There are concerns if FAA directly contacts communities are assessing the data from the survey.” The agency declined without proper airport management coordination, which to comment on the accuracy of the ACI-NA document. could result in the challenges similar to what has been experi- ACI-NA noted in its confidential report that “Results re- enced with the PBN/Metroplex projects,” the ACI-NA docu- lease had been expected Q2 2018, but now FAA has pulled ment declared, adding “FAA expressed an appreciation for back and is not setting a date certain for the release. FAA this point. However, we will continue to stay in contact with holding the results close – we do not yet have the full story.” FAA, as they have not yet shared what their plans for com- The ACI-NA confidential report on FAA’s annoyance sur- munity outreach may be.” vey was included as an appendix to a longer ACI-NA presen- ACI-NA said it is important to have the appropriate stake- tation on “Understanding the Complexities of Communities holders involved in policy development. and Aircraft Noise,” which was presented May 7 at the ACI- “FAA was clear that the release of the [annoyance survey] NA/AAAE Airport Board & Commissioners Conference. data is intended to be a first step, as the FAA is committed to The documents, which ANR found on the internet, were an open and transparent process. He [Burleson] expects the intended to bring airport officials up to speed on aircraft noise data of the survey to be used in an open conversation. We will issues in anticipation of FAA’s expected release of its annoy- continue to work with FAA to develop and better define what ance survey results in June. the policy follow-on steps will be.”

Airport Noise Report 13 October 5, 2018 133

Regarding ACI-NA’s confidential document, Scott R. El- dures (RNAV and RNP). more, ACI-NA Vice President for Marketing & Communica- There are over 100 GLS approaches currently in use tions, told ANR, “Because airports often find themselves as around the world, including at five U.S. airports: Newark the community representative in noise discussions, we con- Liberty, Houston Bush Intercontinental, Atlantic City, Grant tinue to engage with our airport membership and the FAA as County International, and Charleston International. we learn how the results of this study may fit into any larger In addition to SFO, four other U.S. airports are currently conversations about aircraft noise. We appreciate FAA’s dili- planning to implement GBAS technology: LaGuardia, JFK, gence in considering all sides of this important issue. Seattle-Tacoma, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International. “From our ongoing dialogue with FAA, it’s our understanding that work continues on the report. Because of that, the presentation you found might also be out of date.” Legislation

FAA Survey, from p. 131______SENATE FINALLY PASSES FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL seeking patterns that keep aircraft further offshore if possible.” On a vote of 93 to 6, the U.S. Senate finally passed the SFO officials initially presented their GBAS project to Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018 the SFO Community Roundtable in December 2017. on Oct. 3. The House passed the bill, which includes almost This February, the Roundtable established a Flight Proce- 20 noise provisions, on Sept. 26 on a vote of 398 to 23 (30 dures Subcommittee for the project, which includes repre- ANR 126). sentatives of SFO, the SFO Tower, and the Northern Neither the airline or airport trade groups commented on California TRACON (NCT), which is the FAA’s Terminal the noise provisions of the bill but community groups ap- Radar Approach Control facility in Rancho Cordova (near plauded them. Sacramento) that manages air traffic for Northern California. Asked to comment on the legislation, Janet McEnearney, The Subcommittee also includes the FAA’s Flight Proce- president of Queens Quiet Skies, issued the following state- dures Team, FAA Flight Safety personnel, and representa- ment: tives of United, Alaska, Delta, Southwest, and American “The new FAA Reauthorization Act clearly shows the im- airlines. pact that aviation-focused community advocacy groups have In late March, the Subcommittee began work on “GLS” had in Washington since 2012. The bill is by no means per- overlays of existing approaches into SFO. GLS is an fect, nor is it everything we asked for, but the provisions that acronym for GBAS Landing System. It is the FAA’s official were included on behalf of our communities are our way- term for a GBAS instrument approach procedure. The term points down the road toward accomplishing our eventual GLS appears on every GBAS approach chart. goals. By Nov. 16, the air carriers and NCT plan to have com- “Public health studies, environmental studies, noise stud- pleted simulator evaluations of the GLS overlay approaches, ies, airspeed studies, dispersal headings, community involve- which are expected to be published by March 26, 2020. ment (not community engagement), FAA regional ombuds – By the end of this year, the Subcommittee plans to sub- all these were unimaginable six years ago. They are jumping- mit a request to FAA for permission to develop more innova- off points for cooperation among aviation stakeholders. tive GLS approach procedures into SFO. However, that “Our community groups are not going away. It has be- request will not be made until community feedback has been come apparent that the industry must work with community received. It is not clear at this point exactly what those more organizations in order to get where it wants to go, and vice innovative procedures entail but SFO plans to be using them versa. The landscape has changed and old thinking must in late 2020. evolve with it. We all have an opportunity and incentive now to enter into a rational dialogue. GBAS Augments Accuracy of GPS “Those who hesitate at this critical juncture, or try to hold GBAS augments the Global Positioning System (GPS) on to the past, will lose. Queens Quiet Skies is actively pursu- used in U.S. airspace by providing corrections to the accu- ing constructive alliances to meet the differing interests of racy of an aircraft’s GPS navigation position within a 23 aviation stakeholders. It's possible for a robust aviation indus- nautical mile radius of an airport. GBAS high-frequency try to exist along with environmental and health protections radio signals are accurate within one meter on horizontal and for the public. We invite you to work with us – not against us vertical directions. – to make that future happen.” GBAS, which can be installed by airports as a non-fed- Maryland Senators Applaud Bill eral navigational aid, provides a satellite-based alternative to the Instrument Landing System (ILS). Both GBAS and ILS Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both can be aligned with performance-based navigation proce- Democrats) also lauded Senate passage of the bipartisan,

Airport Noise Report 14 October 5, 2018 134

five-year reauthorization of the FAA, which will now go to the president ANR EDITORIAL for his signature. The legislation includes provisions put forward by both senators to ADVISORY BOARD mitigate the noise levels from incoming and outgoing flights at both Thur- good Marshall Baltimore-Washington and Washington National Airports. The senators said they have been working for years with local Mary- Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. land communities, facilitating meetings and discussions between the FAA Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP and local residents to bring some relief to those most harshly affected by Denver recent changes in flight paths. “Finally, we will have hard data to back up what many Marylanders Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. already know: the recently altered flight paths are wreaking havoc on the Consultant people below. The FAA has to take notice and work with local communi- Laguna Beach, CA ties to alleviate the most serious of problems,” said Sen. Cardin.“I appreciate the bipartisan support that helped move these provisions forward.” Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. “The FAA owes it to our communities to do their due diligence when Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP selecting flight paths,” said Sen. Van Hollen. “This legislation will help Chicago ensure that our communities’ needs are better addressed, and I’m pleased that this directs the FAA to give fair consideration to public concerns, im- Gregory S. Walden, Esq. prove development of flight procedures, and reduce noise through various Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld techniques.” Washington, D.C. Noise provisions of the FAA reauthorization bill advanced by Sens. Cardin and Van Hollen include: • Clarifying when airports must submit updated noise exposure maps and requiring FAA to consider noise concerns from affected communities when proposing new area navigation departure procedures or amending an existing procedure below 6,000 feet over noise sensitive areas. • Directing FAA to conduct a review of the FAA’s community involvement in NextGen projects and requiring FAA to submit a report to Con- gress on how they can improve community involvement. • Directing the FAA to review and evaluate existing studies of the relationship between aircraft approach and takeoff speeds and corresponding noise impacts on communities surrounding airports. • Directing a review of the impacts of a phase out of stage 3 aircraft. • Directing the Administrator to conduct a review of the relationship between aircraft noise and its effect on communities surrounding airports, requiring recommendations for revising land use compatibility guidelines. • Directing the FAA to partner with an eligible university to study health impacts of noise from aircraft flights on residents exposed to a range of noise levels focusing on a major metropolitan area including Boston, Chicago, New York, the Northern California Metroplex, Phoenix, the Southern California Metroplex, and Washington, DC, region. • Directing the FAA to carry out a pilot program to mitigate the impacts of aircraft noise, airport emissions, and water quality at airports. • Creation of a program to research noise, emission, and fuel burn reduction options.

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

Published 44 times a year at 43978 Urbancrest Ct., Ashburn, Va. 20147; Phone: (703) 729-4867; FAX: (703) 729-4528. e-mail: [email protected]; Price $850. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Airport Noise Report, provided that the base fee of US$1.03 per page per copy is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. USA.

15 135 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 34 October 12, 2018

Europe In This Issue… WHO EUROPE SAYS 45.5% OF POPULATION WILL BE HIGHLY ANNOYED AT 65 LDEN LEVEL WHO Noise Guidelines ... Some 45.5% of the population will be highly annoyed by aircraft noise at a Environmental Noise Guide- level of 65 dB Lden (day-evening-night level), according to environmental noise lines for the European Re- guidelines issued by the European Office of the World Health Organization on Oct. gion recommend that 10 and based on a review of research since 1999. average aircraft noise expo- The WHO Europe estimate is about four times greater than the 12% of the population FAA assumes will be highly annoyed by aircraft noise at 65 dB LDN (day- sure not exceed 45 Lden and night level) based on older research data from the 1970s that the agency relies on. night exposure not exceed 40 The Lden noise metric that the Europeans use is roughly equivalent to the LDN Lden, which one observer metric used in the United States. Lden is usually only a decibel or two greater than says could shut down LDN because, like California’s Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL), it in- overnight air express deliv- cludes a 5 dB evening weighting. ery business. Expect strong The guidelines also estimate that the number of people that will be highly sleep-disturbed by aircraft noise at night ranges from 11.3% of the population at 40 opposition by aviation indus- dB Lnight and increases to 40% of the population at a level of 65 dB Lnight. try. “WHO’s perspective is an absolutist and unattain- (Continued on p. 136) able one,” acoustician San- ford Fidell says - p. 135

Europe ... New WHO guidelines identify levels that will affect WHO ENV. NOISE GUIDELINES FOR EUROPE people’s health - p. 135 IDENTIFY LEVELS THAT WILL AFFECT HEALTH The just released WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Re- Airlines ... JetBlue an- gion provide strong evidence that noise is one of the top environmental hazards to nounces that it plans to retro- both physical and mental health and well-being in the European Region, WHO’s fit its entire fleet of Airbus European Office said in its announcement of the document. It continues: Officially launched to countries and stakeholders in Basel, Switzerland on Oct. A320s and 321s with vortex 10, 2018, the document identifies levels at which noise has significant health im- generators to stop annoying pacts and recommends actions to reduce exposure. For the first time, a comprehen- whistling tone during ap- sive and rigorous methodological framework was applied to develop the proach - p. 137 recommendations. “Noise pollution in our towns and cities is increasing, blighting the lives of Electric Aircraft ... Zunum many European citizens. More than a nuisance, excessive noise is a health risk - contributing to cardiovascular diseases, for example. We need to act on the many selects Safran helicopter en- sources of noise pollution – from motorized vehicles to loud nightclubs and con- gines to power its hybrid-to- certs – to protect our health,” says Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director electric 12-seat aircraft, for Europe. “The new WHO guidelines define exposure levels to noise that should which will be flying in early 2020s - p. 138 (Continued on p. 137)

Airport Noise Report 16 October 12, 2018 136

WHO, from p. 135 ______But the research review team said “a vast amount of evidence” proves the association between aircraft noise and an- WHO Europe asserts that its new environmental noise noyance. In total, 12 aircraft noise studies, including over guidelines have global relevance because they are under- 17,000 people, were used to model ERFs (exposure-response pinned by evidence that has been rigorously reviewed. But functions) of the relationship between Lden and % Highly the guidelines are only voluntary and FAA and European Annoyed by aircraft noise. countires are under no obligation to adopt them. Expect strong pushback by the aviation industry against Strategies to Reduce Noise Impact the new WHO guidelines, which one observer speculated Regarding what can be done to reduce aircraft noise im- could shut down the overnight air express delivery business, pact, the WHO guidelines state the following: if adopted. “Prohibition or discouragement strategies against citizens Issuance of the new guidelines and dose-response tables moving to the direct proximity of airports, for example, can for annoyance and sleep disturbance will likely be used by be implemented in the context of urban planning. Likewise, those outside the aviation industry to pressure FAA to update diverting flight paths above less-populated areas can lead to a its 40-year-old aircraft noise policy and to force the agency to reduction in exposure. In principle, such intervention meas- release the findings of its long-overdue annoyance survey at ures do not involve any direct costs, although safety concerns 20 unnamed U.S. airports. may limit the feasibility of these strategies. “Passive noise abatement measures like the installation of Major Recommendations for Aircraft Noise soundproof windows at the dwelling were also regarded as Following are the three major recommendations on expo- feasible and economically reasonable by the GDG, as these sure to aircraft noise made by the 12 noise effects researchers are implemented at several airports already. on the WHO Europe Environmental Noise Guideline Devel- “In relation to active abatement measures, the GDG ac- opment Group (GDG): knowledged the “balanced approach” elaborated by Interna- tional Civil Aviation Organization, which states that noise • For average noise exposure, the GDG strongly recom- reduction should take place first at the source. As indicated mends reducing noise levels produced by aircraft below 45 by the Clean Sky Programme, this could, for example, entail dB Lden, as aircraft noise above this level is associated with shifting towards the introduction of new aircraft. adverse health effects. “This broad European research programme estimates that, depending on type, the shift to newly produced aircraft could • For night noise exposure, the GDG strongly recom- lead to a reduction of approximately 55-79% of the area af- mends reducing noise levels produced by aircraft during fected by aircraft noise, and consequently the population ex- night time below 40 dB Lnight, as aircraft noise above this posed. As this solution has been put forward by the aviation level is associated with adverse effects on sleep. sector, it is considered feasible. Overall, this indicates that solutions to achieve recommended noise levels can be imple- • To reduce health effects, the GDG strongly recommends mented and at reasonable costs. that policy-makers implement suitable measures to reduce “The GDG agreed that implementation of the recommen- noise exposure from aircraft in the population exposed to lev- dation to minimize the risk of adverse health effects due to els above the guideline values for average and night noise ex- aircraft noise for a majority of the population would require a posure. For specific interventions the GDG recommends reasonable amount of (monetary) resources. It noted, how- implementing suitable changes in infrastructure. ever, that the feasibility of implementing the measures could be hindered by the fact that costs and benefits are not equally The recommendation to keep average noise exposures distributed. In most cases, the health benefits citizens gain below 45 dB Lden was based only on annoyance data. from interventions that reduce aircraft exposure are borne by The group “was confident that there was an increased risk private companies and public authorities.” for annoyance below this exposure level [of 45.4 dB Lden], but probably no relevant risk increase for other priority health WHO’s Perspective Is Not Attainable outcomes,” such as incidence of ischaemic heart disease or “The World Health Organization’s recently-released Envi- hypertension, permanent hearing impairment, or reading ronmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region proceed skills and oral comprehension in children, the guidelines ex- from a perspective which closely coincides with the European plain. Union’s view that “no person should be exposed to noise lev- The GDG made its recommendations for aircraft noise els which endanger health and quality of life,” acoustician exposure “strong,” which means they can be adopted as pol- Sanford Fidell of Fidell Associates, Inc. in Woodland Hills, icy in most situations, even though the quality of the research CA, who has long experience in acoustical standards devel- reviewed on the relationship between exposure to aircraft opment, told ANR. noise and incidence of ischaemic heart disease and hyperten- “This is an admirable perspective for an ideal world, in sion was rated very low quality and low quality, respectively. which no person’s health or quality of life would ever be in-

Airport Noise Report 17 October 12, 2018 137 fringed for any reason, nor purchased at the cost of enormous Europe but also from research in other parts of the world, public economic benefits. mainly America, Asia and Australia. “WHO’s perspective is an absolutist and unattainable one. Furthermore, the guidelines highlight data and research Regulatory agencies are charged with seeking a balance be- gaps to be addressed in future studies. tween conflicting societal interests. The World Health Organ- ization is not a regulatory agency, nor should its public health An Independent Peer-Reviewed Development guidelines be confused with pragmatic regulatory goals. Process “If the world were governed purely by WHO’s noise The development process of the current guidelines was guidelines, noise would never disturb anyone’s sleep, nor in- conducted by two independent groups of experts from the en- terfere with anyone’s speech, nor annoy anyone in any de- vironmental noise community who adhered to a new, rigor- gree. Few citizens of modern societies would consider trading ous, evidence-based methodology. Eight peer-reviewed the benefits of, say, motorized transportation or urban living, systematic reviews of the pertinent literature underpin the for such complete freedoms from noise effects. guidelines, incorporating significant research since the publi- “The real work of noise regulatory agencies is not to cation of the WHO Night Noise Guidelines for Europe in achieve a perfect world, but to identify politically and eco- 2009. nomically acceptable tradeoffs between ideal and realistic cir- The systematic reviews were based on several health out- cumstances of noise exposure.” comes – cardiovascular and metabolic effects, annoyance, effects on sleep, cognitive impairment, hearing impairment and tinnitus, adverse birth outcomes, and quality of life, mental WHO, from p. 135 ______health and well-being – and the effectiveness of interventions in reducing noise exposure and negative health impacts. not be exceeded to minimize adverse health effects and we “These guidelines have been developed based on the urge European policy-makers to make good use of this guid- growing body of evidence in the field of environmental noise ance for the benefit of all Europeans.” research,” concludes Professor Stephen Stansfeld, Chair of the Guidelines Development Group. “They aim to support What Is New public health policy that will protect communities from the Compared to previous WHO guidelines on noise, this adverse effects of noise, as well as stimulate further research version contains five significant developments: into the health effects of different types of noise.” • Stronger evidence of the cardiovascular and metabolic The WHO Europe Environmental Noise Guidelines can effects of environmental noise; be downloaded at www.euro.who.int (under “News”). • Inclusion of new noise sources, namely wind turbine noise and leisure noise, in addition to noise from transportation (aircraft, rail and road traffic); Airlines • Use of a standardized approach to assess the evidence; • A systematic review of evidence, defining the relation- JETBLUE TO RETROFIT A320, 321S ship between noise exposure and risk of adverse health outcomes; and WITH VORTEX GENERATORS • Use of long-term average noise exposure indicators to On Oct. 10, JetBlue announces plans to retrofit its entire better predict adverse health outcomes. Airbus fleet with noise-reducing vortex generators. “This move reflects JetBlue’s continued commitment to Driving Policy Action to Protect Communities the communities where its customers and crewmembers live from Health Effects of Noise and work,” the airline said. Targeted at decision-makers and technical experts, the Beginning in 2015, JetBlue began taking delivery of new new guidelines aim to support legislation and policy-making aircraft with vortex generators already installed. The airlines at the local, national and international level. said it is committing to add the devices to its 138 remaining “Through their potential to influence urban, transport and Airbus A320 family aircraft through 2021. energy policies, the Environmental Noise Guidelines con- The small devices disrupt wind over ports on the wing, tribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and which can produce a “whistling” tone during approach into support our vision of creating resilient communities and sup- an airport that is especially annoying to communities below. portive environments in the Region,” said Dr. Jakab. “While the airline industry has benefited from advances Although the guidelines focus on the European Region in technology and efficiency leading to quieter planes and en- and provide guidance consistent with the European Union’s gines, the work is never done,” said Joe Bertapelle, Director Environmental Noise Directive, they also have global rele- Strategic Airspace Programs, JetBlue. vance. The large body of evidence underpinning the recom- “We’re pleased to incorporate this advancement across mendations was derived not only from noise effect studies in our Airbus fleet and contribute to our communities in a mean- ingful way as good corporate citizens.”

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Vortex generators will be installed on 130 existing JetBlue A320 air- ANR EDITORIAL craft and eight JetBlue A321 aircraft during their existing scheduled heavy checks with the full fleet wide install expected to be complete in 2021. ADVISORY BOARD All future Airbus orders will be delivered with vortex generators already installed. The cost to retrofit the full Airbus fleet is less than $1 million. Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP Denver Electric Aircraft Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. ZUNUM SELECTS SAFRAN ENGINES Consultant Laguna Beach, CA FOR ITS HYBRID-ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT Zunum Aero announced Oct. 4 that it has selected Safran Helicopter Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. Engines to power it hybrid-to-electric commercial aircraft, which will be Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP available in the early 2020s. Chicago Zunum is pioneering development of a family of commercial hybrid- to-electric aircraft designed for regional operations. Gregory S. Walden, Esq. Safran Helicopter Engines will provide a new generation engine tur- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld bine to drive the Zunum ZA10’s electrical generator. “This turbo-genera- Washington, D.C. tor will power this 12-seat, hybrid-to-electric 700-mile commercial aircraft, driving extraordinarily low operating costs, offering unprecedented door-to-door travel times that are two to four times faster than today. Zunum expects to light up 30,000 airports around the world with frequent and affordable air service,” the firm said. The Zunum aircraft under development, internally dubbed the ZA10, is the first in the company’s family of regional, hybrid-to-electric aircraft. The new aircraft is designed to cruise and land on turbo-generator power alone, offering full redundancy. "Today marks a significant milestone on the path to delivery of the ZA10," said Matt Knapp, co-founder and CTO of Zunum Aero. "The Zunum ZA10 aircraft will bring breakthrough performance to regional aviation, paving the way to fast, electrified, affordable high-speed air services to communities everywhere.” Florent Chauvancy, Safran Helicopter Engines EVP OEM Sales, added: “The Ardiden 3Z represents a very powerful complement to the ZA10 because of its exceptional performance, along with low operating and maintenance costs. This announcement marks a new step forward in demonstrating Safran ability to offer hybrid propulsive solutions for to- morrow’s mobility solutions. Near term milestones in the development of the ZA10 include ground and flight testing scheduled for 2019 with delivery of the aircraft targeted for the early 2020’s. Zunum conducted ground tests of the ZA10’s hybrid- electric power system at Chicago-area facilities earlier this year.

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

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A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 35 October 19, 2018

Standards In This Issue… ANSI/ASA RETRACT STANDARD USED TO ASSESS SLEEP DISTURBANCE FROM AIRCRAFT NOISE Sleep Disturbance ... The The American National Standards Institute and the Acoustical Society of Amer- American National Standards ica recently announced the retraction of an aircraft noise sleep disturbance standard Institute and the Acoustical adopted in 2008 that described a method of predicting the probability of awakening Society of America retract a at least once per night due to transportation noise intrusions into residential sleep- 10-year-old standard used in ing quarters. NEPA analyses to predict the “ANSI/ASA S12.9-2008/Part 6 was developed primarily to assess sleep disturbance created by transportation noise, as required by the National Environmental probability of sleep awaken- Policy Act (NEPA) and by similar state legislation, for assessing nighttime noise ings due to aircraft noise in- impacts of major, government-funded projects. Limitations of the Standard that strusions into residential have become evident in the years since its publication outweigh its usefulness for sleeping areas - p. 139 its intended purpose,” ASA and ANSI explained in a joint technical report dis- cussing their decision to rescind the standard. Annoyance ... Leaders of an The report continues: The decision of Working Group 15 of ANSI Committee S12 to withdraw ANSI/ASA S12.9-2008/Part 6 “implies that the method for calcu- ambitious EU research project called ANIMA believe (Continued on p. 140) that the multi-factored nature of aircraft noise annoyance can only be understood by a Research multi-disciplinary research team - p. 139 EU PROJECT SEEKS TO LINK TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WITH ENVIRON. CONCERNS SSTs ... GE Aviation com- The European Union is funding an ambitious research project that seeks to bet- pletes the initial design of the ter understand the many factors that cause communities to be annoyed by aircraft first supersonic engine pur- noise in order to provide engineers and operational planners with the tools needed pose-built for business jets. It to allow them to design aircraft and imagine air traffic patterns that will reduce annoyance. will power Aerion Corpora- Called ANIMA (Aviation Noise Impact Management through Novel Ap- tion’s AS2 12-passenger su- proaches), the project is designed to help make the link between technological de- personic business jet - p. 140 velopments and environmental concerns. The ANIMA project includes a large consortium of 22 partners throughout Eu- Hybrid-Electric Aircraft ... rope: airports, aviation research centers in France, Germany, and The Netherlands, Heathrow Airport announces universities, small and medium-sizes businesses (SMEs), and non-governmental organizations from 11 countries. Airbus and Safran are part of the project , as are that first hybrid-electric air- Heathrow Airport and the Schiphol Group. craft to be put into regular The research team includes nearly 70 experts from a broad range of disciplines, service at Heathrow will not including acoustics, numerical simulation, psychology and sociology, land-use have to pay landing charges for an entire year - p. 141 (Continued on p. 141)

Airport Noise Report 20 October 19, 2018 140

Standards, from p. 139______that impact sleep and other forms of sleep disturbance that are known to be sensitive to nighttime noise exposure; and lating “at least one behavioral awakening per night” con- • The standard does not quantitatively address the roles of tained in the former Standard should no longer be relied upon familiarity with noise sources and habituation to noise expo- for environmental impact assessment purposes. The Working sure as determinants of sleep disturbance. Group believes that continued reliance on the 2008 Standard would lead to unreliable and difficult-to-interpret predictions Implications of Retraction of transportation-noise-induced sleep disturbance. “The chief implication of the retraction of ANSI's sleep “The Working Group further believes that project alterna- standard is that practitioners of the black art of preparing en- tives that have been endorsed in already completed environ- vironmental disclosure documents for airports will have to mental assessments on the basis of calculations of “at least admit that they have no reliable means for estimating sleep one behavioral awakening per night” may be in error and disturbance due to new infrastructure projects. In other have overestimated numbers of expected awakenings. The words, it will preclude them from from hiding their ignorance Working Group understands that its decision to withdraw the behind the retracted standard,” an acoustical expert told ANR. 2008 Standard may be disruptive to acoustical consultants “They will probably prepare two or three pages of "on the who rely on the Standard for environmental impact assess- one hand, but on the other..." discussion of the sleep literature ment purposes. in lieu of a standardized analysis – but in truth, the lack of a “Therefore, two Informative Annexes of the 2008 stan- standard and the indeterminate nature of sleep interference dard are included in this document for the guidance they can due to aircraft noise won't deprive decision makers of accu- provide until more plausible and technically defensible means rate, substantive information [because there is none]. (The re- are developed for predicting sleep disturbance due to trans- tracted standard didn't provide much in any event.) portation noise.” “As for whether NEPA-like documents based on the re- The two Annexes define ways to quantify the probability tracted standard are now vulnerable to post hoc challenge, of behavioral awakening as a function of the single-event in- you'd be better served by posing the question to a lawyer door A-weighted sound exposure level (ASEL) for an habitu- rather than to an acoustician. Equations provided in "informa- ated population, and the probability of awakening a tional annexes" of standards are not part of standards them- population with a sound that is new to an area. selves, but I suppose that in the absence of an actual standard, “Practitioners and the public may benefit from informa- can be cited as best available information. (Not that such citation that describes the difference between awakening in habit- tions will be of much use to the decision makers for whom uated and unhabituated populations. Higher noise levels have the disclosures are nominally made.)” been reported to be required to disturb sleep in an habituated The retraction of the ASA/ANSI sleep disturbance stan- population than for a non-habituated population [Ollerhead, dard points to the need for funding to conduct the research 1992]. This finding may be relevant in assessments con- needed to understand under what circumstances aircraft noise ducted for NEPA-related purposes of project-related noise ef- disturbs people’s sleep. fects on sleep disturbance,” a footnote in the report explains. Reasons for Retracting Standard SSTs The joint technical report explains that ANSI/ASA S12-9- 2008/Part 6 does not usefully predict transportation-noise-induced sleep disturbance for the following reasons: GE DESIGNS FIRST SST ENGINE • It is based on analysis of a relatively small amount of BUILT JUST FOR BUSINESS JETS non-representative information about noise-induced sleep dis- At an Oct. 15 press conference with Aerion Corporation, turbance; GE Aviation announced that it has completed the initial de- • Its predictions of probabilities of “at least one awaken- sign of the first supersonic engine purpose-built for business ing per night” are based on implausible and untenable statisti- jets. cal assumptions and analytic methods, and cannot be The engine is designed to meet stringent FAA Stage 5 generalized from one airport to another; subsonic aircraft noise standards and to beat current emis- • The predicted quantity (“at least one awakening per sions standards. night”) does not usefully distinguish degrees of sleep distur- The announcement was made at the annual convention of bance among preferred and alternate project actions; the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in Or- • For lack of cautions in the language of the Standard, its lando. methods are readily misapplied, and its predictions of “at The new engine class, called GE’s AffinityTM turbofan, least one awakening per night” are easily over-interpreted; is optimized with proven GE technology for supersonic flight • The standard attempts to characterize an intuitively ap- and is timed to meet the launch of Aerion’s AS2 12-passenger pealing form of objectively measured sleep disturbance, but supersonic business jet, which will operate at 1,000 mph. in so doing, it fails to acknowledge the many complexities

Airport Noise Report 21 October 19, 2018 141

Aerion plans to fly the AS2 in 2023 with certification in efficient than today’s fleet. With global air passengers ex- 2025. pected to double by 2035, these changes will play a critical “The Affinity is a new class of medium bypass ratio en- role in driving a sustainable future for the aviation sector and gines that provide exceptional and balanced performance will support goals outlined in Heathrow’s own sustainability across supersonic and subsonic flights. The Affinity inte- strategy – Heathrow 2.0,” the airport said. grates a unique blend of proven military supersonic experi- Heathrow currently incentivizes airlines to bring their ence, commercial reliability and the most advanced business greenest fleet to Heathrow through the use of environmental jet engine technologies,” GE explained in a press release. charges, and will continue to work with airlines to develop GE said its Affinity “is purposefully designed to enable these incentives in the future. efficient supersonic flight over water and efficient subsonic The prize comes alongside Heathrow’s existing plans to flight over land, without requiring modifications to existing decarbonize the industry and pursue clean growth, including compliance regulations. The engine is designed to meet strin- the quarterly “Fly Quiet and Green” league table which tracks gent Stage 5 subsonic noise requirements and beat current airline performance on noise and emissions targets, and a emissions standards.” partnership with Virgin Atlantic and LanzaTech to further the Aerion is collaborating with GE Aviation, Lockheed Mar- take-up of more sustainable biofuels. tin and Honeywell to develop the AS2. Said Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye, “Our mission is to enhance global mobility with super- “Heathrow has long been a leader in sustainable aviation. We sonic speed, starting with business aviation, and following championed carbon neutral growth in global aviation, which with successively faster and larger designs for business and will come into effect in 2020. The next frontier is zero car- commercial aviation,” said Aerion CEO Tom Vice. “GE Avia- bon flying, and I hope this prize will help to make it a reality tion is making this new efficient, sustainable supersonic era at Heathrow by 2030.” possible through its pioneering work on the Affinity engine.” Added Airbus Chief Technology Officer Grazia Vittadini, “With air traffic projected to double every 15 years, it is our duty as an industry to find solutions that ensure sustainable Heathrow Airport growth with minimal environmental impact. At Airbus, this is our driving force for developing electric and hybrid-electric 1ST HYBRID-ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT propulsion technologies. We commend Heathrow Airport’s initiative to jump-start the adoption of hybrid-electric tech- WILL PAY NO LANDING CHARGES nologies with the launch of the Grand Innovation Prize!” AT HEATHROW FOR ONE YEAR In a world first, London Heathrow Airport announced Oct. 16 that the first hybrid-electric aircraft to be put into reg- Europe, from p. 139 ______ular service at the UK’s international hub will not have to pay Heathrow’s landing charges for an entire year, a prize worth nearly £1 million ($1.3 million). planning, aviation operational management, and communica- Airports are eager to attract hybrid-electric aircraft mainly tion. to reduce growing aviation emissions but an added benefit Project leaders are convinced that the multi-factored na- will be reduced noise. ture of aircraft noise annoyance can only be understood by a The Heathrow announcement coincided with its celebra- multidisciplinary research team. tion of GreenBusiness Week and was inspired by the first ANIMA also has an advisory board that includes aviation short electric-powered flight carrying two passengers at Oslo noise experts, independent organizations that tackle aviation Airport earlier this year. noise, and policy-makers. Heathrow said it is looking to leverage its role as one of On Oct. 9-11, the second technical review and project the world’s leading airports to drive sustainable change management meeting for ANIMA was held in Amsterdam across the industry. and hosted by The Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR). There are already more than 100 electric aircraft projects At the meeting, Laurent Leylekian of ONERA (Office underway across the world and current industry thinking sug- National d’Etudes et Recherches Aérospatiales), the French gests electric aircraft could touch down at major international national aerospace research center, who serves as the coordi- airports by 2030, Heathrow officials said. nator of the ANIMA project, highlighted the impact of the They noted, however, that innovators are facing two main project. hurdles: the cost of development and current demand. The £1 “As we pass the first year of this project, we are seeing a million prize has been designed to incentivize airlines to in- high level of expectation from communities and industry on vest in electric technology, helping to increase demand and this project, which ANIMA is aiming to deliver. Moreover, speed up the arrival of zero-emissions flights at the UK’s the ANIMA project has the potential to provide end-users, biggest airport. such as airports, with novel approaches for noise impact miti- “Electric aircraft could be much quieter, cleaner and more gation,” he said.

Airport Noise Report 22 October 19, 2018 142 ANR EDITORIAL Non-Acoustical Factors The ANIMA web site states, “Surveys show that for similar levels of ADVISORY BOARD noise, some communities around airports are complaining and some are not. Thus, we do know that beyond noise, non-acoustical factors are strongly affecting the capacity of communities to tolerate or to compen- sate the annoyance. Analyzing, disseminating and implementing mecha- Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. nisms and measures that are actually allowing communities to accept Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP reasonable levels of noise through engagement and/or compensation is the Denver first objective of ANIMA.” The project also will develop a common strategic research roadmap Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. for aviation noise reduction, which will include mitigation solutions, as- Consultant sessment of noise effects on populations, and best practices, paying spe- Laguna Beach, CA cial attention to community involvement. ANIMA is one of three projects being funded by the European Union Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. under its Horizon 2020 research and innovation program that deals with Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP the aircraft noise problem from different, but complementary, standpoints. Chicago The goal of ANIMA is to improve the quality of life in communities living in proximity of airports by mitigating the impact of perceived noise Gregory S. Walden, Esq. in psycho-acoustic terms. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld ARTEM (Aircraft Noise Reduction Technologies and Related Envi- Washington, D.C. ronmental Impact) focuses on the integration of highly innovative technologies on aircraft, to be implemented from now until 2050. AERIALIST (Advanced Aircraft-Noise-Alleviation Devices Using Metamaterials) is a fundamental research project and focuses on the use of metamaterials for the development of highly innovative technologies that can reduce noise radiation.

In Brief…

NextGen Advisory Committee Meeting The NextGen Advisory Committee will meet on Oct. 31 at 8:30 a.m. at The Mitre Corporation facilities in a northern Virginia suburb of Wash- ington, DC. The meeting will take place in Building 1, MITRE 1 Conference Cen- ter, 7425 Colshire Dr., Tysons, VA. The agenda for the meeting has not yet been announced but, when finalized, will be published on the FAA’s Meeting web page at: https://www.faa.gov/about/offices_ang/nac/

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

23 143 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 36 November 2, 2018

Research In This Issue… AIR POLLUTION, TRANSPORT NOISE EFFECTS ARE ADDITIVE, SWISS RESEARCHERS REPORT Research ... Air pollution Air pollution and transportation noise are both associated with an increased risk studies that do not take into of heart attacks. But studies on air pollution that do not take into account air traffic account transportation noise and other transportation noise tend to overestimate the long-term effect of air pollu- tend to overestimate the tion on heart attacks, according a study conducted by the Swiss Tropical and Public long-term effect of air pollu- Health Institute and published Oct. 24 in the European Heart Journal. Where air pollution is high, the level of transportation noise is usually also ele- tion on heart attacks, Swiss vated. So, it is not only air pollution that negatively impacts health but car, train, researchers report - p. 143 and aircraft noise also increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, as previous research has demonstrated, the study explained. Low-Boom SSTs ... On Nov. Studies investigating the effect of air pollution without sufficiently taking into 5, NASA will begin flight account the impact that noise exhibits on health, might overestimate the effect of tests off the coast of Galve- air pollution, the study stressed. In their study, the Swiss researchers looked at the combined effects of air pollu- ston, TX, with F/A-18 super- tion and transportation noise for heart attack mortality, by considering all deaths sonic research aircraft to test ways to measure community (Continued on p. 144) response to low-level sonic booms - p. 143

Low-Boom SST ... NASA conducts wind tunnel tests of low-boom SST NASA FLIGHTS OFF GALVESTON WILL TEST model. Data will be used to WAYS TO MEASURE RESPONSE TO LOW BOOMS develop simulation models, [Following is an Oct. 30 NASA news feature by Matt Kamlet, refine flight controls for low- Public Affairs Specialist, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center.] boom supersonic demonstration plane that will begin NASA is set to begin a series of quiet supersonic research flights off the coast of Texas near Galveston to test ways to measure the community’s response to a flying over communities in unique acoustic experience. 2023 - p. 144 Normally, an aircraft flying at supersonic speeds (faster than Mach 1, the speed of sound) produces a sonic boom so loud that, today, commercial supersonic flight San Francisco Int’l ... FAA is prohibited over land. will complete review of pro- Beginning Nov. 5, however, NASA test pilots will fly an F/A-18 supersonic re- posed update to SFO’s Part search aircraft in a unique maneuver that creates a quieter “thump.” Capturing how people and sensors on the ground respond to that sound is the goal for the Quiet Su- 150 noise compatibility pro- personic Flights 2018, or QSF18, campaign. gram by April 16, 2019. Pub- “QSF18 is a big step in NASA’s efforts to understand what is required for ac- lic has until Dec. 26 to ceptable supersonic overland flight,” said NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Tech- submit comments to FAA on the update - p. 146 (Continued on p. 145)

Airport Noise Report 24 November 2, 2018 144

Research, from p. 143 ______the sleep laboratory, epidemiological investigations, survey data, and acoustic calculations and modeling. that occurred in Switzerland between 2000 and 2008. Analy- ses that only included fine particulates (PM2.5) suggest that the risk for a heart attack rises by 5.2% per 10 µg/m³ increase NASA in the long-term concentration at home. Studies which also account for road, railway and aircraft noise reveal that the NASA CONDUCTS WIND TUNNEL risk for a heart attack attributable to fine particulates in fact TESTS OF LOW-BOOM SST MODEL increases considerably less; 1.9% per 10 µg/m³ increase. These findings indicate that the negative effects of air pollu- [Following is an Oct. 25 NASA news feature tion may have been overestimated in studies which fail to by Eric Gillard, NASA Langley Research Center.] concurrently consider noise exposure. “Our study showed that transportation noise increases the It’s a long way from now until the year 2023 for re- risk for a heart attack by 2.0 to 3.4% per 10 decibels increase searchers who hope their airplane will lead the next innova- in the average sound pressure level at home,” said Martin tion of flight – which is just fine with aeronautics researcher Röösli, Head of the Environmental Exposures and Health Corey Diebler. Unit at Swiss TPH, and lead author of the published research. Diebler, who works in the Flight Dynamics Branch at “Strikingly, the effects of noise were independent from air NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is pollution exposure.” the flight dynamics and simulation lead for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project. Effects of Noise, Air Pollution Are Additive “With this particular test, we’re breaking new ground,” The study also found that people exposed to both air pol- Diebler said. “We’re going into a region where we don’t have lution and noise are at highest risk of heart attack. Hence, the any other data to guide us.” effects of air pollution and noise are additive. NASA recently awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics “Public discussions often focus on the negative health ef- Company a $247.5 million contract to build a faster-than- fects of either air pollution or noise but do not consider the sound X-plane — with the official designation of X-59 Quiet combined impact.” said Röösli. “Our research suggests that SuperSonic Technology, or QueSST — that will demonstrate both exposures must be considered at the same time.” quiet supersonic technologies in straight and level flight over This has implications for both policy as well as future re- a large area. search. Hence, Röösli and co-researchers recommend includ- Part of the Low-Boom Flight Demonstration mission, the ing transportation noise exposure in any further research X-59 QueSST is shaped so that supersonic shockwaves do related to air pollution and health to avoid overestimating the not coalesce together to create sonic booms. The noise nui- negative effects of air pollution on the cardiovascular system. sance associated with sonic booms prompted the government The study included all deaths (19,261) reported across to ban supersonic flight over land years ago. Data from the Switzerland from the period 2000 to 2008. The air pollution X-59 project could be the path for new commercial markets (PM2.5) was modeled using satellite and geographic data, in supersonic flight in the United States and internationally. calibrated with air pollution measurements from 99 measure- Before the X-59 sees the skies, it must undergo many ment sites throughout Switzerland. Nitrogen dioxides (NO2) rounds of testing. The current set of tests, conducted in Lang- were also modeled using 9,469 biweekly passive sampling ley’s 12-Foot, Low-Speed Tunnel, collected low-speed aero- measurements collected between 2000 and 2008 at 1,834 lo- dynamic stability and control data from a sub-scale X-59 cations in Switzerland. model to expand upon previous experimental and computa- Transportation noise was modeled by well-established tional predictions. noise propagation models (sonRoad, sonRAIL and FLULA 2) “Being a flight test project, it’s always good to know what by Empa and n-sphere. The air pollution and the transporta- lies out there beyond the edges of our planned flight envelope tion noise models were applied for each address of the 4.4 and understand how the airplane will behave when it gets in million Swiss adult citizen (aged 30 years and above). those regions … should we find ourselves there,” Diebler The study by Héritier H et al. is “A systematic analysis of said. mutual effects of transportation noise and air pollution expo- The wind tunnel data will be used to develop simulation sure on myocardial infarction mortality: a nationwide cohort models and refine vehicle flight controls, which will improve study in Switzerland” (2018) European Heart Journal, how the airplane flies, even at unlikely flight conditions. ehy650, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehy650 “This data will give us a better understanding of where The research was funded by the Swiss National Science we can fly safely.” Diebler said. “We’ll use this data in our Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Federal Office for the En- simulations and it will improve our predictions as to how vironment (BAFU). The study was part of SiRENE (Short well the airplane handles over a wider range of flight condi- and Long Term Effects of Transportation Noise Exposure), an tions.” interdisciplinary research project combining experiments in The test consisted of three phases: static stability and con-

Airport Noise Report 25 November 2, 2018 145 trol tests, dynamic forced oscillation tests, and flow visualiza- NASA, from p. 143 ______tion tests using some and laser techniques. The high angle of attack phase provided data at greater pitch angles than previous tested, which will improve the X- nology Project Manager Peter Coen. “This is the first time in 59 simulation at those conditions. decades that we have reached out to a large community as During forced oscillation tests, the X-59 model was put part of our supersonic research. NASA has performed similar though roll, pitch, and yaw motions and the aerodynamic tests at our Armstrong Flight Research Center, using similar damping derivatives were measured. The damping deriva- sounds created by the same F/A-18. We’ve measured the tives are necessary to properly model the aircraft’s response noise levels and the impact on structures, as well as surveyed to unsteady events such as in-flight turbulence. people for annoyance, to make certain that these tests are safe “When we’re doing the forced oscillation tests, we force and well-planned. We greatly appreciate Galveston’s interest the model to roll at a defined rate,” Diebler said. “We essen- and support.” tially extract how the aerodynamics resist that motion and The F/A-18 is a typical supersonic aircraft so, in order to hopefully dampen out the roll, pitch and yawing motions.” shush the boom, it will be put into a quiet supersonic dive Finally, during the third phase of the test, smoke and maneuver. Starting out over the water at around 50,000 feet lasers were used to illuminate the airflow to understand how the aircraft will be put into a special dive that still creates a the vortices created by the wings and canards behave and regular sonic boom, however when the sound reaches land it how they interact with other parts of the airplane such as the should be heard as a quieter “thump” instead. vertical tail or the engine inlet. QSF18 is unique for another reason. For the first time, “This sort of testing gives you a real experimental NASA’s Johnson Space Center, located just north of Galve- grounding to see how it compares to the analytical methods,” ston, will provide critical support for a NASA activity that is Diebler said. about flight but not into space! The center’s flight operations An added bonus, according to Diebler, is that tunnel test- staff are part of the team supporting the QSF18 aircraft, pilots ing is more interactive than sitting at a computer, which and other crew based out of nearby Ellington Field. makes it a fun change of pace. “NASA’s role as a leader into new frontiers paves the way “Testing a sub-scale model of the X-59 in our 12-Foot forward towards new technologies, opportunities, and mile- Tunnel is like tinkering in your garage due to the hands-on stones across multiple endeavors, as we have always done aspect,” Diebler said. “When you do a test like this, you re- throughout our history,” said Mark Geyer, director of NASA’s ally get a feel for the airplane, even though it’s a scaled Johnson Space Center. “As our efforts also continue to ex- model.” pand our boundaries and capabilities in space, Johnson Space Computational fluid dynamics, even with its complex cal- Center is proud to be working with our colleagues at NASA’s culations, is growing in use, but tunnel testing can comple- research centers at Langley and Armstrong, and to take part in ment any information learned from it. “In a wind tunnel, once the agency’s aeronautics research efforts to lead aviation into the model has been made, you can collect enormous amounts a new era as ‘One NASA.’ of data very quickly,” Diebler said. The X-59 QueSST is designed so that when flying super- 500 People Will Be Surveyed sonic, people on the ground will hear nothing more than a In Galveston, community feedback data will be gathered sonic thump – if anything at all. Lockheed Martin is sched- through the use of a survey, in which 500 recruited volunteer uled to begin construction of the X-59 at its Skunk Works residents, if they hear the thumps, will define the level at plant in Palmdale, California, in early 2019. which they were able to perceive the sound. QSF18 data will Once fully tested and deemed safe to fly within the na- be used to help NASA better understand successful data col- tional airspace, the X-59 in 2023 will begin making super- lection methods for future flights using an experimental air- sonic flights over select communities to measure residents’ craft called the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology, or reactions to any noise they might hear. QueSST, demonstrator. Starting in 2022, the X-59 will di- The scientifically valid data gathered from these commu- rectly fly over yet-to-be-selected communities to collect data nity overflights will be presented to U.S. and international using lessons learned from QSF18. regulators, who will use the information to help them come “Galveston is both honored and excited to be part of this up with rules based on noise levels that enable new commer- project,” said Galveston Mayor James Yarbrough. “This is the cial markets for supersonic flight over land. type of project that motivates engineers and innovators. In Before that happens, more data needs to be acquired for Galveston, we have a long and proud history of being in- the X-59 to get ready to fly. volved in advances in science and technology, whether that’s “The data that we’re collecting is going to directly affect in medicine, rail, or shipping. In this case, our residents will the vehicle flight controls and how well the airplane flies,” have an opportunity to participate in a study to advance avia- Diebler said. “This test is an important step that will allow us tion and the design of commercial planes that can break the to continue to refine the controls and make improvements as sound barrier quietly. We’re excited to be a small part of it, we get closer to first flight.” and we’ll do what we can to support NASA and help ensure

Airport Noise Report 26 November 2, 2018 146

the success of this study. Thanks to NASA for choosing Galveston as the ANR EDITORIAL location for testing this idea.” While the “quiet thumps” produced by the F/A-18 present no risk of ADVISORY BOARD causing physical damage to people or structures, NASA has learned that elements such as atmospheric turbulence and humidity can influence how certain areas may perceive the sound, which may be heard differently Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. from other areas. NASA will operate a number of microphone stations in Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP the area to match up the community’s response with the decibel level of Denver each sonic thump. Additionally, NASA will have resources available to residents who Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. would like to learn more about supersonic flight research, and how it may Consultant help lead to an exceptional reduction in commercial flight times. NASA Laguna Beach, CA has committed to engage the educators and youth of the Galveston area, through STEM learning activities. This features two web-based opportuni- Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. ties, including a “Seeing Sound” learning module, with classroom activi- Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP ties for students, and a citizen scientist activity for anyone in the Chicago Galveston area to submit data on the sounds they hear. (This activity is separate from the process of collecting official data responses from pre-se- Gregory S. Walden, Esq. lected community volunteers.) Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld Washington, D.C. Part 150 Program FAA REVIEWING PROPOSED UPDATE TO SFO AIRPORT PART 150 PROGRAM On Oct. 26, the FAA announced that it is reviewing a proposed Part 150 noise compatibility program update submitted for San Francisco In- ternational Airport by the City and County of San Francisco. The existing Part 150 noise compatibility program for SFO was approved by the FAA on Sept. 7, 1983. The proposed update will be approved or disapproved by FAA on or before April 16, 2019. The public has until Dec. 26 to comment on the proposed Part 150 program update, which can be viewed at https://www.flysfo.com/community/noise-abatement/sfo-part-150-study/draft-report Comments should be submitted to Camille Garibaldi, Environmental Program Specialist, SFO-613, FAA, San Francisco Airports District Of- fice, 1000 Marina Blvd., Suite 220, Brisbane, CA 94005-1835; tel: (650) 827-7613. FAA asked that comments specifically reference whether the proposed measures may reduce the level of aviation safety or create an undue burden on interstate or foreign commerce, and whether they are reasonably consistent with obtaining the goal of reducing existing non-compatible land uses and preventing additional non-compatible land uses.

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

27 147 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 37 November 9, 2018

Research In This Issue… STUDY OFFERS INSIGHT INTO LINK BETWEEN CHRONIC NOISE EXPOSURE, HEART DISEASE Research ... Preliminary Exposure to environmental noise appears to increase the risk of heart attacks findings of a study to be pre- and strokes by fueling the activity of a brain region involved in stress response. sented at an American Heart This response, in turn, promotes blood vessel inflammation, according to prelimi- Association research event nary research that will be presented in Chicago at the American Heart Association’s offer insights into how Scientific Sessions 2018 event, which will be held on Nov. 10-12. chronic noise exposure AHA said the event is a premier global exchange of the latest advances in car- causes heart disease - p. 147 diovascular science for researchers and clinicians. The study findings reveal that people with the highest levels of chronic noise exposure – such as highway and airport noise – had an increased risk of suffering Hollywood Burbank Airport cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes, regardless of other risk fac- ... FAA holds two public tors known to increase cardiovascular risk, the American Heart Association ex- workshops on controversial plained in a Nov. 5 press release on the research, which will be presented at a RNAV departure procedures poster session at the meeting. out of Burbank airport that The results of the study offer much-needed insight into the biological mecha- communities, elected officals (Continued on p. 148) want evaluated in formal env. review process - p. 147

Hollywood Burbank Airport Urban Air Mobility ... NASA officials welcome more than FAA HOLDS PUBLIC WORKSHOPS ON CONTRO- 400 participants with a stake VERSIAL RNAV DEPARTURES PROCEDURES in the future of UAM to Under pressure from elected representatives and the public, the FAA held pub- Seattle for a two-day gather- lic workshops on Nov. 7 and 8 on two controversial proposed RNAV departure pro- ing at which the agency pre- cedures out of Hollywood Burbank Airport sented it plans to host a The purpose of these workshops was to provide people with information about proposed amendments to two existing departure routes at Hollywood Burbank Air- series of “Grand Challenges” port – the OROSZ and the SLAPP. These amendments would tighten up the initial to demonstrate the viability portion of the right turn that aircraft make shortly after departing and reduce the of air taxis, drones and other number of aircraft drift to the south before making their turns. We would do this by aircraft in an urban environ- adding a precise, satellite-based segment to the initial part of the route,” Ian Gre- ment - p. 148 gor, Communications Manager for FAA’s Pacific Division, told ANR. “We actually wanted to implement this kind of route for Burbank several years ago as part of the Southern California Metroplex project but were unable to due to Election ... Rep. Peter De- technical issues. Subsequently, we overcame those technical issues and are now Fazio is expected to chair the able to implement the route, which fulfills the terms of a [recent] legal settlement House Transportation and In- agreement we reached with the Benedict Hills Estates Association and Benedict frastructure Committee following mid-terms - p. 150 (Continued on p. 149)

Airport Noise Report 28 November 9, 2018 148

Research, from p. 147 ______In the meantime, however, they said the new study findings should propel clinicians to consider chronic exposure to nisms of the well-known, but poorly understood, interplay high levels of ambient noise as an independent risk factor for between cardiovascular disease and chronic noise exposure, cardiovascular disease. researchers said. “Patients and their physicians should consider chronic “A growing body of research reveals an association be- noise exposure when assessing cardiovascular risk and may tween ambient noise and cardiovascular disease, but the wish to take steps to minimize or mitigate such chronic expo- physiological mechanisms behind it have remained unclear,” sure,” Radfar said. said study author Azar Radfar, M.D., Ph.D., a research fellow She told ANR that the study has not been published in a at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “We believe scientific journal yet and she could provide no more details our findings offer an important insight into the biology be- about it. ANR had asked what noise levels the subjects were hind this phenomenon.” exposed to. The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. Urban Air Mobility Study Design Dr. Radfar and colleagues analyzed the association be- NASA DISCUSSES PLAN TO HOST tween noise exposure and major cardiovascular events, such UAM ‘GRAND CHALLENGE’ SERIES as heart attacks and strokes, among 499 people (average age 56 years), who had simultaneous PET and CT scan imaging NASA officials welcomed more than 400 participants of their brains and blood vessels. Diagnostic validation was with a stake in the future of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to done in a subset of 281 subjects. Seattle last week for a two-day gathering in which the agency All participants were free of cardiovascular illness and presented its plans to host a series of Grand Challenges for cancer at baseline. Using those images, the scientists assessed the UAM community. the activity of the amygdala – an area of the brain involved in Urban Air Mobility is defined as a safe and efficient sys- stress regulation and emotional responses, among other func- tem for passenger and cargo air transportation, such as flying tions. taxis and package-delivery drones, in and around an urban To capture cardiovascular risk, the researchers examined area. Several companies currently are working to develop ve- the participants’ medical records following the initial imaging hicles and the infrastructure necessary to make UAM a real- studies. Of the 499 participants, 40 experienced a cardiovas- ity. cular event (e.g., heart attack or stroke) in the five years fol- The purpose of the Grand Challenge, NASA explained in lowing the initial testing. a Nov. 6 announcement, is to promote public confidence in To gauge noise exposure, the researchers used partici- UAM safety while capturing the public’s interest in a future pants’ home addresses and derived noise level estimates from many have imagined, or seen on television shows and the Department of Transportation’s Aviation and Highway movies, for decades. Noise Map. “The vision to revolutionize air mobility in and around People with the highest levels of noise exposure (highest metropolitan areas is one of the most exciting frontiers in quartile versus others) had higher levels of amygdalar activity modern aviation,” said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator and more inflammation in their arteries. Notably, these people of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “The also had a greater than three-fold risk of suffering a heart at- turnout for this industry day signifies the community’s recog- tack or a stroke and other major cardiovascular events, com- nition that NASA is a leader in this area.” pared with people who had lower levels of noise exposure. For the first Grand Challenge, now set for late 2020, the That risk remained elevated even after the researchers ac- idea will be to demonstrate safe operation of a piloted or re- counted for other cardiovascular and environmental risk fac- motely piloted aircraft capable of carrying at least one adult tors, including air pollution, high cholesterol, smoking and passenger within a simulated, challenging urban environ- diabetes. ment. Additional analysis revealed that high levels of amygdalar Participating organizations likely will involve many who activity appears to unleash a pathway that fuels cardiac risk attended the briefing in Seattle, including companies with an by driving blood vessel inflammation, a well-known risk fac- interest in building UAM vehicles; developing key onboard tor for cardiovascular disease. systems, such as electric propulsion, detect and avoid or com- mand and control; or providing air traffic management for More Research Needed UAM aircraft operating over urban areas. The researchers caution that more research is needed to Also on hand were representatives from academia and determine whether reduction in noise exposure could mean- local, state and federal government, including the Federal ingfully lower cardiovascular risk and reduce the number of Aviation Administration, which will gather information from cardiovascular events on a population-wide scale. the Grand Challenge to inform policy decisions on safety,

Airport Noise Report 29 November 9, 2018 149 certification and airspace integration of UAM operations. early morning; noise from UAM could pose a more notable “NASA is committed to working with our industry and barier in future as electric vehicles become more mainstream government partners in any way we can to safely integrate (potentialy causing a reduction in overall ambient noise, mak- these new options for passenger and cargo air transportation ing UAM more noticeable).” services into our skies,” Shin said. The Booz Allen survey included residents of New York, NASA will use the Request for Information (RFI) process Washington DC, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, to let industry day participants and others indicate their inter- Los Angeles, San Fancisco, and Honolulu. est in participating in the Grand Challenge. The RFI, to which responses are due by Nov. 16, also will help NASA assess the state of the art of industry-developed UAM hardware and Burbank, from p. 147______systems, as well as collect input on ways to refine and opti- mize the Grand Challenge so it’s of the most help to industry. Hills Neighborhood Association south of the airport.” Gregor Confidence in the future of UAM and the need for a said that the pre- and post-Metroplex flight tracks are pretty Grand Challenge is buoyed by the results of two NASA-con- much the same but did shift a little to the south. tracted market studies by teams led by Booz Allen Hamilton On Nov. 6, prior to the workshops, California Congress- of McLean, Virginia, and Crown Consulting, Inc., of Arling- man Brad Sherman (D) met with FAA officials to discuss the ton, VA. Links to the studies are at SLAPP and OROSZ procedures, which were proposed with- https://www.nasa.gov/uamge out FAA conducting an Environmental Assessment or con- Just recently completed, both studies found strong busi- sulting with the affected communities. ness cases and a highly committed UAM community pursu- Residents affected by noise from the proposed departure ing the various user scenarios the two companies researched. procedures have formed a group called Studio City for Quiet “Our findings point toward an exciting future for aviation Skies demanding that FAA disperse the departure paths so serving new roles in society through Urban Air Mobility,” that no community gets all the noise impact. said Tom Edwards, Crown Consulting’s chief technology of- Following the public outcry, FAA posted a draft initial en- ficer. vironmental report last month that suggests using a categori- Among the potentially profitable success stories: by 2030, cal exclusion for the procedures. However, Gregor stressed as many as 500 million flights a year for package delivery that FAA has made no final decision on what environmental services and 750 million flights a year for air metro services. analysis of the proposed procedures it will conduct and has Less likely to make a profit, according to the research, but no timetable for making that decision, which could be influ- still found to be a valuable service in the public interest: air enced by public comments at the workshops and elsewhere. ambulance services. The high up-front costs of building the Rep. Sherman met with Clark Desing, Director of the infrastructure required to support UAM operations also could FAA’s Western Service Center, and Beth White, Senior Advi- initially limit profitability for other types of air taxi services. sor for NextGen Communication and Branding, on Nov. 6. “The challenges and barriers are numerous, but we be- “We began to explore why all take-offs from Burbank lieve this technology will be a part of an amazing transforma- Airport take-off southwest. Some planes might perhaps take- tion of our air transportation system of the future,” said Chis off to the south, southeast, or east,” Sherman said in a state- Fernando, a senior associate with Booz Allen. ment following the meeting. Those barriers include significant legal, regulatory, infra- In August, Congressman Sherman wrote to the FAA for- structure and weather constraints, along with concerns about mally requesting that the agency fully engage with impacted public perception related to noise, pollution and safety. communities in the San Fernando Valley to address concerns “It’s for all of these reasons the first Grand Challenge will over aviation noise. be so important in helping to demonstrate the UAM commu- Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, and L.A. nity is making progress to overcome these challenges and re- City Attorney Michael Feuer are also pushing back on FAA’s alize all that this promising future has to offer,” Shin said. proposal to implement the RNAV departure procedures out of Hollywood Burbank Airport because of the noise impact they Noise Could Affect Community Acceptance would have. In its Urban Air Mobility Market Study, Booz Allen They say the proposed OROSZ and SLAPP RNAV depar- Hamilton said that “adverse energy and environmental impact ture procedures would shift and concentrate southbound de- (particularly, noise) could affect commuity acceptance” of partures, increasing noise over many schools, residential UAM, and that UAM “posed legal challenges that touch on neighborhoods, parks, and other noise-sensitive areas in the most aspects of aviation, especially in the areas of air traffic San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains. control and management and flight standards, but also envi- In an Aug. 23 letter to FAA, L.A. City Councilman ronmental policy, public use, land use, and local restrictions.” Krekorian and City Attorney Feuer asserted that FAA is A key finding of an exploratory survey of approximately legally obligated to start a formal environmental review 1,700 residents of five unnamed U.S. cities was that “existing process to consider the impacts of the proposed RNAV depar- noise concerns focus on traffic noise during the night and ture procedures at Hollywood Burbank Airport.

Airport Noise Report 30 November 9, 2018 150

Pursuant to FAA Order 1050.1F [Environmental Impacts: Policies and ANR EDITORIAL Procedures], FAA cannot rely on a categorical exclusion to obviate the need to prepare an environmental assessment/environmental impact state- ADVISORY BOARD ment if “extraordinary circumstances” exist, they reminded FAA. Krekorian and Feuer said at least three extraordinary circumstances exist that require the preparation of an EA for the two proposed RNAV de- Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. parture procedures at Burbank Airport: Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP • They would have an impact on cultural resources protected under the Denver National Historic Preservation Act; • They would have an impact on properties protected under Section Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act. This includes parks and Consultant wildlife refuges of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; and Laguna Beach, CA • They would have an impact on noise levels of noise sensitive areas and impacts on the quality of the human environment that are likely to be Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. highly controversial on environmental grounds. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP They urged FAA to consider an alternative to its proposed RNAV de- Chicago parture procedures that was proposed by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. They said it might reduce aircraft noise impact by tak- Gregory S. Walden, Esq. ing aircraft along U.S. Highway 101. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld Studio City for Quiet Skies notes on its website that the City of Los Washington, D.C. Angeles is considering legal action against FAA over the departure paths as is a group of private citizens.

In Brief…

DeFazio Will Chair House T&I Committee Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) is expected to be named the new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee next week, following the Democrats’ takeover of the House in the Nov. 6 mid-term election. DeFazio currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Committee. While aircraft noise has not been a primary concern of DeFazio, he is very knowledgeable on the issue. Whether he will be interesting in holding hearings on aircraft noise issues likely depends on whether the House Quiet Skies caucus seeks them and whether the T&I Committee is able to work with President Trump on an infrastructure bill, which could consume a lot of the committee’s time. The Democratic takeover of the House finally gives the Quiet Skies Caucus, comprised almost entirely by Democrats, an opportunity shine. What they plan to do with that opportunity remains to be seen.

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31 151 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 38 November 16, 2018

AIP Noise Grants In This Issue… NOISE GRANTS TOTALING $116.8 MILLION AWARDED TO 16 AIRPORTS IN FISCAL 2018 AIP Grant Data … This spe- Some 16 airports received a total of $116.8 million in federal Airport Improve- cial issue of ANR provides ment Program (AIP) grants for noise mitigation projects in fiscal year 2018. That is data on grants awarded to $33.5 million more than the $83.2 million that 14 airports received for noise miti- airports for noise compatibil- gation projects in fiscal year 2017, according to FAA data. ity planning and noise miti- AIP funding levels for airport noise mitigation projects have generally been on a downward trend since they peaked in fiscal 2005 when 57 airports received a gation projects under the total of $337.1 million in AIP grants. federal Airport Improvement The drop in AIP noise project funding levels following fiscal 2005 reflects a Program in fiscal year 2018. congressionally-mandated broadening of the special noise set-aside in the AIP pro- Table 1. Grants for residen- gram to also fund airport emission mitigation projects, federal belt-tightening, and tial sound insulation - p. 152 an increase in the use of Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) to fund airport noise Table 2. Grants for insula- mitigation projects. tion of public bldgs - p. 152 FY 2018 Noise Mitigation Projects Table 3. Grants for land ac- The $116.8 million in AIP noise grants awarded in fiscal 2018 includes: quisition/easements - p. 153 • $114,221,887 million to 11 airports for residential sound insulation; Table 4. Grants for noise • $67,500 to one airport for sound insulation of public buildings; monitoring systems - p. 153 • $100,967 to one airport for noise monitoring system installation; Table 5. Grants for noise • $2,418,127 to five airports for noise compatibility planning studies; and compatibility planning stud- • $0 for land acquisition. ies - p. 153 Highest AIP Grant Awards Table 6. Grants by airport The highest airport noise mitigation grant awards in fiscal 2018 all went to fund for all noise compatibility airport sound insulation programs. They were awarded to: projects in FY 2018 - p. 154 • Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Int’l: $43 million for residential insulation; • Los Angeles Int’l: $30 million in two grants for residential insulation; Highest Grant Awards … Ft. • San Diego Int’l: $13.3 million for insulation, noise compatibility study; • Chicago O’Hare Int’l: $10.7 million for residential insulation; Lauderdale-Hollywood Int’l • Atlanta-Hartsfield Int’l: $6.5 million for residential insulation; received the highest grant • Key West Int’l: $4.1 million for residential insulation; and award in FY 2018: $43 mil- • Tweed/New Haven: $2.5 million for residential insulation. lion for residential sound insulation. LAX came in next AIP grants represent only one of two federal funding sources available to air- with a total of $30 million port proprietors to fund noise mitigation projects. The other funding source is revenue from Passenger Facility Charges. ANR will report PFC noise data for fiscal for residential sound insula- 2018 later this year. tion, which was followed by San Diego Int’l with $13.5 million for insulation and a noise compatibility study.

Airport Noise Report 32 November 16, 2018 152

Table 1: AIP Grants for Residential Sound Insulation in Fiscal 2018 (by contour)

State City Airport Sponsor Amount Contour

CA Fresno Fresno-Yosemite City of Fresno $1 million 65-69 DNL

CA Inglewood Los Angeles Intʼl City of Inglewood $20 million 65-69 DNL

CA L.A. County Los Angeles Intʼl Dev. Comm. $10 million 65-69 DNL

CA San Diego San Diego Intʼl Reg. Airport Auth $12 million 65-69 DNL

CT New Haven Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority $2,504,946 65-69 DNL

FL Broward Cty Ft. Laud-Hollywood County $43,431,405 65-69 DNL

FL Monroe Cty Key West Intʼl County $4,102,442 65-69 DNL

GA Atlanta Atlanta-Hartsfield City of Atlanta $6,588,658 65-69 DNL

IL Chicago OʼHare Intʼl City of Chicago $10,717,636 65-69 DNL

WA Seattle Seattle-Tacoma Intʼl Port of Seattle $1,876,800 65-69 DNL

TX Lardeo Laredo Intʼl City of Laredo $2 million 65-69 DNL

Grand Total: Residential Sound Insulation: $114,221,887

Table 2: AIP Grants for Sound Insulation of Public Buildings in Fiscal 2018

VT Burlington Burlington Intʼl City of Burlington $67,500 _

Grand Total: Public Building Sound Insulation: $67,500

Airport Noise Report 33 November 16, 2018 153

Table 3: AIP Grants for Land Acquisition/Easements in Fiscal 2018

State City Airport Sponsor Amount Contour

(No grants awarded in this category in FY 2018).

Grand Total: Land Acquisition: $0

Table 4: AIP Grants for Noise Monitoring System Installation in Fiscal 2018

State City Airport Sponsor Amount

PA Philadelphia Philadelphia Intʼl City of Phil. $100,967

Grand Total: Noise Monitoring System Installation: $100,967

Table 5: AIP Grants for Noise Compatibility Plan Studies in Fiscal 2018

State City Airport Sponsor Amount

CA San Diego County San Diego Intʼl Reg. Airport Auth. $1,350,000

CT Bridgeport Sikorsky Memorial City of Bridgeport $170,435

IN Indianapolis Indianapolis Intʼl Airport Authority $262,500

MA Westfield Westfield-Barnes City of Westfield $35,192

TX Ft. Worth Ft. Worth Alliance City of Ft. Worth $600,000

Grand Total: Noise Compatibility Planning Studies: $2,418,127

Airport Noise Report 34 November 16, 2018 154

Table 5: AIP Grants by Airport for All Noise Mitigation Projects in Fiscal 2018

State Airport Insulation Studies Land Monitoring Total

CA Fresno-Yosemite $1,000,000 $1,000,000

CA Los Angeles Intʼl $30,000,000 $30,000,000

CA San Diego Intʼl $12,000,000 $1,350,000 $13,350,000

CT Sikorsky Memorial $170,435 $170,435

CT Tweed/New Haven $2,504,946 $2,504,946

FL Ft. Lauderdale Intʼl $43,431,405 $43,431,405

FL Key West Intʼl $4,102,442 $4,102,442

GA Atlanta-Harstfield $6,588,658 $6,588,658

IL Chicago OʼHare $10,717,636 $10,717,636

IN Indianapolis Intʼl $262,500 $262,500

MA Westfield-Barnes $35,192 $35,192

PA Philadelphia Intʼl $100,967 $100,967

WA Seattle-Tacoma $1,876,800 $1,876,800

TX Ft. Worth Alliance $600,000 $600,000

TX Lardeo Intʼl $2,000,000 $2,000,000

VT Burlington Intʼl $67,500 $67,500

Grand Total: All Noise Mitigation Projects: $116,808,481

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

Published 44 times a year at 43978 Urbancrest Ct., Ashburn, Va. 20147; Phone: (703) 729-4867; FAX: (703) 729-4528. e-mail: [email protected]; Price $850. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Aviation Emissions Report, provided that the base fee of US$1.03 per page per copy is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. USA.

Airport Noise Report 35 155 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 39 November 23, 2018

NASA In This Issue… LOCKHEED MARTIN BEGINS MANUFACTURING NASA’S X-59 LOW-BOOM SST DEMONSTRATOR SSTs ... Lockheed Martin be- NASA announced Nov. 16 that Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of gins manufacturing NASA’s Palmdale, CA, recently began manufacturing the first part of NASA’s X-59 Quiet X-59 Quiet SuperSonic SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft, a low-boom supersonic demonstrator Technology (QueSST) low- that will be used to gather crucial community response data that the International boom demonstrator aircraft, Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will use to set a noise level for overland super- which will be used to gather sonic flight. community response data The X-59 QueSST is shaped to reduce the loudness of a sonic boom to that of a gentle thump. The supersonic aircraft will be flown above select U.S. communities that ICAO will use to set to measure public perception of the noise – data that will help regulators establish noise levels for overland su- new rules for commercial supersonic air travel over land. personic flight - p. 155 “We’ve reached an exciting milestone not only for NASA but for airliners and passengers wishing to arrive to their destination in half the time,” said Craig Community Advocacy ... The Nickol, the NASA project manager for the Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator project. informal national coalition of “Manufacturing the first part of the X-59 is a step on a path that leads to the communty groups fighting (Continued on p. 156) the noise impact of NextGen focused flight paths has coalesced into a new not-for- Organizations profit corporation – called the Quiet Skies Conference – COMMUNITY GROUPS FORMALLY ALIGN in order to strengthen their TO STRENGTHEN ADVOCACY, INFO SHARING advocacy efforts and infor- The informal coalition of grass-roots anti-noise community groups known as mation sharing - p. 155 the National Quiet Skies Coalition has formally coalesced into a new not-for-profit corporation called the Quiet Skies Conference in order to strengthen their advocacy Litigation ... The State of efforts and improve information sharing. The goals of the new Quiet Skies Conference (QSC) focus on inclusion of com- Maryland asks a federal ap- munities in all stages of decision-making on flight path changes or new flight pro- peals court to compel the cedures that affect them; the use of noise metrics to measure the “true impact” of FAA to respond to an admin- noise; and the protection of public health and the environment in communities im- istrative petition the State pacted by aviation noise and pollution. filed with the FAA request- The Conference was formed by leaders of community anti-noise groups repre- ing revisions of RNAV pro- senting thousands of people in New York City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Massachu- sets, and Northern and Southern California. These groups, and similar groups cedures at BWI Airport. FAA around the country, were formed in reaction to the noise impact of focused flight says that no formal right ex- paths that are the hallmark of FAA’s implementation of NextGen. ists to petition the FAA as the Following is their Nov. 14 announcement on the QSC: State of Maryland has done - p. 157 (Continued on p. 156)

Airport Noise Report 36 November 23, 2018 156

NASA, from p. 155 ______Organizations, from p. 155 ______completion of an exciting research aircraft, quiet supersonic The founders of the National Quiet Skies Coalition have flight and new markets for faster air travel.” joined together to create a new organization called the Quiet When completed, the single-pilot experimental aircraft Skies Conference (QSC). will go through a series of tests to prove its performance. In the spring of 2015, representatives from a few local Then the X-59 will fly over a number of U.S communities, aviation noise advocacy groups organized the National Quiet collecting data on how the public responds to the quiet “sonic Skies Coalition, a forum to exchange information and ideas. thump.” U.S. and international regulators will use the data to Since then, some Coalition members have worked together potentially change the rules that currently ban supersonic informally on national issues. flight over land. Over the past few months, it has become apparent that the Lockheed Martin was selected by NASA to build, design time is right to work together more formally. The result is the and conduct initial flight tests of the X-59. Work under the QSC, an enterprise for advocacy as well as information-shar- $247.5 million contract began April 2 and runs through Dec. ing. 31, 2021 (30 ANR 41). The Quiet Skies Conference is a not-for-profit corpora- Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will complete the tion. Its steering committee and Board of Directors is com- design and fabrication of an experimental X-plane, which posed of the six founding members of the National Quiet will cruise at 55,000 feet at a speed of about 940 mph (Mach Skies Coalition. Our goal is to more formally align the inter- 1.42) with a top speed of 990 mps (Mach 1.5). ests of advocacy groups nationwide and strengthen our repre- The X-plane will create a sound about as loud as a car sentation. QSC will connect with national leaders, elected door closing, 75 Perceived Level decibel (PLdB), instead of a officials and aviation stakeholders on national issues. The sonic boom. Coalition’s Google Groups forum will continue to provide advocacy groups with a clearinghouse for information. NASA Commits to Three-Year Timeline The QSC has formulated the following national goals as NASA announced Nov. 19 that it has officially committed our initial advocacy platform: to a development timeline that will lead to the first flight of its X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft in A. Include community representation at all stages of just three years. the decision-making process when making decisions that “This critical milestone comes after a rigorous review, affect communities. Key Decision Point-C (KDP-C), that confirmed NASA’s continued support of the X-59, in terms of funding, and estab- 1. Hold public hearings with public comment before lished an achievable development timeline for NASA’s first changing flight procedures or implementing new flight proce- piloted, full-size X-plane in more than three decades” the dures. agency said. 2. Design environmentally-sound flight procedures lo- “This aircraft has the potential to transform aviation in the cally, with community input into design and planning in ad- United States and around the world by making faster-than- vance of FAA decision-making. sound air travel over land possible for everyone,” said NASA 3. Include the impact of aviation noise and pollution on Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “We can’t wait to see this bird affected communities as a mandatory criterion when the FAA fly!” assesses the overall benefits of changes to aviation proce- KDP-C commits NASA to the full X-59 development ef- dures. fort through flight-testing in 2021. The cost and schedule 4. Appoint a community representative as a voting mem- commitments outlined in KDP-C align the project with pro- ber of each decision-making entity that makes aviation deci- gram management best practices that account for potential sions affecting communities. technical risks and budgetary uncertainty beyond the project’s 5. Establish a formal process to track the progress and control. completion of deliverables due under the 2018 Reauthoriza- “This is a monumental milestone for the project,” said tion Act and report them to Congress and the public. Jaiwon Shin, NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics. “I’m extremely proud of the team for its hard work getting to B. Use metrics that measure the true impact of noise. this point, and we all look forward to watching this aircraft take shape and then take flight.” 1. Support the development of accurate, appropriate noise Management of X-59 QueSST development falls under metrics when considering the impact of aviation noise on af- the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project, part of the Inte- fected communities. Report to Congress and the public on grated Aviation Systems Program in NASA’s Aeronautics Re- statute-mandated evaluation and development of supplemen- search Mission Directorate. tal metrics. 2. Update FAA calculation and modeling methods to re- flect human experience of episodic aviation noise and vibra-

Airport Noise Report 37 November 23, 2018 157 tion, including model validation with measured acoustic data Litigation recorded in communities located below flight paths. When considering flight path changes, the FAA should consider the MD ASKS D.C. COURT OF APPEALS concentration of extended noise, the frequency of flights, air traffic from 10PM to 7AM and the impact of low frequency TO COMPEL FAA TO CHANGE noise. NOISY BWI FLIGHT PATHS 3. Publish the existing annual noise contours and Noise On Nov. 8, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed Exposure Maps produced by FAA out to 55 dB DNL for at a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of least the 30 largest airports. Columbia Circuit following the FAA’s inaction regarding en- 4. Use the already-approved metric of Nx (e.g. N65) vironmental impacts and flight paths at Baltimore-Washing- when providing background data to communities about pro- ton Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). posed flight path changes. “Maryland citizens continue to have their lives disrupted 5. Replace or supplement the DNL metric with other up- and are subjected to intolerable noise pollution due to the dated metrics used successfully in other parts of the world. NextGen program’s flight paths. For months, the FAA has re- 6. Use metrics that distinguish between day and night fused to respond to our request for additional environmental noise. surveys and changes to flight paths at BWI Thurgood Mar- shall Airport,” Frosh told the Court. C. Protect public health and the environment in com- “The FAA’s inaction is unlawful,” Frosh asserted, adding munities impacted by aviation noise and pollution. “today, my office filed a petition for review with the Court, asking the court to compel the FAA to respond and begin the 1. Restore full funding to the EPA’s Office of Noise process of altering flight paths at BWI. We are committed to Abatement and Control. restoring the quality of life for the thousands of Marylanders 2. Return to full NEPA environmental procedures. Elimi- surrounding the airport.” nate the automatic categorical exclusion for all NextGen In June, Frosh filed an administrative petition with the flight procedures. Calculate the environmental impacts of fuel FAA requesting a supplemental environmental assessment as emissions and aviation noise by cumulative rather than “per well as revisions to area navigation routes and procedures for flight” measures. BWI. 3. Require the FAA to publish the results of its current Noise Annoyance Study no later than March 1, 2019. FAA Says No Right to Petition Exists 4. Update the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 to However, in a Sept. 10 letter, sent in response to Mary- include consideration of public health issues and restore some land’s petition, Assistant FAA Chief Council for Airports & local controls. Environmental Law James Lofton said that “no formal right exists in the applicable statutes, regulations, or guidance to We think the industry must work with community organi- ‘petition’ the [FAA] Administrator as Maryland has done.” zations in order to get where it wants to go, and vice versa. Lofton also told the attorney representing the State of We see an opportunity to pursue strategic, collaborative rela- Maryland, John Putnam of Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, that tionships and foster rational discussion among aviation stake- “FAA’s actions with respect to the DC Metroplex Environ- holders. It is possible for a robust aviation industry to exist mental Assessment and the identified procedures at BWI are along with environmental and health protections for commu- fully implemented and were complete years ago. There is no nities on the ground. major federal action associated with these actions, and FAA If your membership organization is in alignment with our does not have a legal duty to supplement the reviews associ- goals and methods, we would welcome your support and par- atied with those documents.” ticipation. We look forward to working with aviation-focused Lofton said FAA “declines” to respond to Maryland’s ad- advocacy groups to enhance our voice and presence, and em- ministrative petition but noted that the agency did agree in power our movement. July to reengage on noise issues with the DC Metroplex BWI • Janet McEneaney - Queens Quiet Skies (New York City) Community Roundtable but will limit its involvement “to is- • Steve Kittleson - MSP FairSkies Coalition (Minneapo- sues outside the scope of administrative petitions filed by the lis-St.Paul) State of Maryland and Howard County, MD.” • Kevin Terrell - MSP FairSkies Coalition (Minneapolis- “If Maryland will withdraw its administrative petition,” St.Paul) the FAA attorney told Putnam, FAA “is prepared to consider • Adriana Poole - Boston West Fair Skies (Massachusetts) all recommendations from the roundtable addressing noise • Jennifer Landesmann - Sky Posse Palo Alto (Northern concerns at BWI. We believe that the roundtable is the proper California) forum to address the state’s noise concerns from departing • Martin Rubin - Concerned Residents Against Airport and arriving aircraft at BWI.” Pollution (Southern California)

Airport Noise Report 38 November 23, 2018 158 ANR EDITORIAL Maryland’s Petition In its Nov. 8 petition to the D.C. Court of Appeals, the State of Mary- ADVISORY BOARD land asked the Court “to review FAA’s failure and/or refusal to take the following actions”: (1) Reinitiate consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer in light of the discovery of unanticipated effects on historic properties, as Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. requied by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA); and Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP (2) Review of FAA Administrator’s decisions to grant categorical ex- Denver clusions with respect to flight procedures that were material changes from procedures previously in effect, as required by the National Defense Au- Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. Consultant The State of Maryland asked the Court “to find that the FAA has un- Laguna Beach, CA lawfully withheld and unreasonably delayed performing these nondiscre- tionary duties and to compel the FAA to reinitiate consultation and review Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. the relevant categorical exclusions.” Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP Chicago DOJ Asks Court to Dismiss MD Lawsuit In related action, on Aug. 13, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Gregory S. Walden, Esq. Justice and the FAA asked the D.C. Circuit to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld the State of Maryland, which also challenged changes to arrival paths into Washington, D.C. Washington National Airport on the ground that it was filed too late. The litigation was filed on June 26, more than two years after FAA published amendments to air-traffic procedures used by aircraft arriving at National Airport in 2015. That is well beyond the 60-day window allowed for challenging FAA final orders and there are no reasonable grounds for allowing such a delay, DOJ and FAA asserted in their brief to the Court. In response to DOJ and FAA’s petition to dismiss their case, attorneys for the State of Maryland asserted that FAA has not met its “heavy burden” to show that Maryland’s claims are conclusively time-barred, especially given the Court’s August 2017 decision in City of Phoenix v. FAA. In the Phoenix case, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit made the rare finding that reasonable grounds did exist for filing the case beyond the 60-day window (29 ANR 111). The State of Maryland asserts that similar grounds for filing its case late also exist. In the Phoenix case, the Court panel held that the City of Phoenix reasonably refrained from filing suit challenging catexed RNAV departure procedures at Sky Harbor International Airport because FAA “repeatedly communicated ... that the agency was looking into the noise problem, was open to fixing the issue, and wanted to work with the City and others to find a solution.” Similarly, over the course of two years, the FAA repeatedly assured the Reagan National Airport Community Working Group that it was considering its proposals to revise one of the arrival paths to DCA, that State of Maryland told the Court (30 ANR 118).

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

39 159 Airport Noise Report

5A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 40, 41 December 5, 2018

PFCs In This Issue… $3.59 BILLION OF TOTAL PFC REVENUE DEVOTED TO NOISE MITIGATION PROJECTS PFCs … This special issue At the end of Fiscal Year 2018 (Oct. 31), some $3.59 billion (3.5 percent) of the of ANR provides data ob- $103.8 billion in Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) that the FAA has approved for collection and use since 1991 has being designated for airport noise mitigation tained from the FAA on air- projects, according to agency data. ports that are collecting A total of 109 airports were using PFCs for noise mitigation projects at the end Passenger Facility Charges of fiscal 2018. (PFCs) to support various The FAA subdivides noise mitigation projects into six categories. Following is noise mitigation projects. the total amount airports plan to collect for each category, as of Oct. 30, 2018, as The data show that, since well as the percentage that category represents of the total PFCs for noise mitigation being collected: 1991, some 109 airports have • $1.55 billion (43.1 percent) for multi-phase projects; imposed PFCs totaling $3.59 • $1.44 billion (40.1 percent) for soundproofing projects; billion to mitigate airport • $542.6 million (15.1 percent) to purchase land/easements; noise problems. • $20.6 million (0.6 percent) for miscellaneous projects; Table 1 shows a break- • $19.3 million (0.5 percent) for noise monitoring systems; and down of all airport projects • $19.3million (0.5 percent) for planning. supported by PFCs, includ- LAX Breaks $1 Billion Threshold ing airport noise mitigation In fiscal year 2018, Los Angeles International became the first airport to break projects - p. 160. the one billion dollar threshold in terms of imposing PFCs for noise mitigation Table 2 shows PFCs for projects. LAX has now imposed $1.04 billion in PFCs for noise mitigation efforts, noise mitigation projects mostly to fund sound insulation. And together Chicago O’Hare International Air- being collected by airports port and Midway International Airport also have exceeded the one billion dollar mark, imposing $1.5 billion in PFCs for noise mitigation, also mostly for sound in- and the total amount of PFCs sulation. those airports have imposed The following airports are using over $100 million in PFCs for noise mitigation for noise projects - p. 161. projects: FAA did not provide data • Los Angeles International – $1.042 billion; by noise project type (sound- • Chicago O’Hare International – $989.5 million; proofing, land, planning, • Chicago Midway – $510.9 million; • Phoenix Sky Harbor International – $297.1 million; monitoring) for FY 2018. • Minneapolis-St. Paul International – $188.7 million; And, in Table 2, FAA pro- • Charlotte Douglas International – $129.9 million; vided the dates on which the • Seattle-Tacoma International – $124.2 million; noise projects funded by • San Jose International – $117.8 million; and PFCs started and were com- • Detroit Metropolitan Airport – $104.6 million. pleted, rather than providing Passenger Facility Charges are only one source of revenue that airports use to fund noise mitigation projects. The other funding stream is the FAA’s Airport Im- the dates on which the PFCs provement Program. Data on AIP grants awarded for noise mitigation projects in could be imposed and used, fiscal 2018 were reported in the Nov. 16 issue of ANR (Vol. 30, No. 38). as the agency had in the past.

Airport Noise Report 40 December 5, 2018 160

APPROVED PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES BY CATEGORIES (as of Oct. 30, 2018)

CATEGORY PROJECT TYPE AMOUNT PERCENT

AIRSIDE RUNWAYS $ 7,682,762,230 43.8 TAXIWAYS $ 2,982,920,389 17.0 APRONS $ 1,985,910,461 11.3 LAND $ 529,358,884 3.0 EQUIPMENT $ 2,062,103,105 11.8 PLANNING $ 702,105,361 4.0 LIGHTING $ 324,022,463 1.8 OTHER $ 1,255,441,867 7.2 TOTAL $17,524,534,760 100

LANDSIDE TERMINAL $35,303,773,924 90.1 LAND $ 1,331,121,923 3.4 SECURITY $ 2,546,991,200 6.5 TOTAL $39,181,887,047 100

NOISE LAND $ 542,677,360 15.1 MULTI-PHASE $ 1,550,302,251 43.1 SOUNDPROOFING $ 1,442,351,409 40.1 MONITORING $ 19,328,656 0.5 PLANNING $ 19,300,104 0.5 OTHER $ 20,622,987 0.6 TOTAL $ 3,594,582,767 100

ACCESS ROADS $ 2,852,545,288 43.4 RAIL $ 3,642,595,753 55.4 LAND $ 16,728,615 0.3 PLANNING $ 63,006,441 1.0 TOTAL $ 6,574,876,097 100

INTEREST $33,830,975,347 100

SUBTOTAL $100,706,856,018

DENVER $ 3,137,632,383 PFC TOTAL $103,844,488,401

SOURCE: FAA (PFC BRANCH)

Airport Noise Report 41 December 5, 2018 161

PFC FUNDED NOISE PROJECTS (BY LOCATION) (as of Oct. 31, 2018)

CITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Juneau AK Land $21,931 6/1//01 7/30/03 $21,931 Birmingham AL Land $3,173,639 5/1/95 3/23/11 $4,918,177 Birmingham AL Land $1,744,538 2/1/08 8/30/13 Huntsville AL Land $7,767,354 3/6/92 6/28/94 $5,492,201 Huntsville AL Land $1,377,575 3/6/92 11/22/95 Huntsville AL Land $265,804 3/6/92 7/1/96 Huntsville AL Land $68,954 12/1/97 12/1/98 Huntsville AL Land $178,220 7/1/03 12/30/05 Mobile AL Land $421,383 8/1/01 7/1/99 $1,449,339 Mobile AL Planning $116,804 7/1/95 3/1/06 Mobile AL Land $126,333 7/1/93 7/1/95 Mobile AL Land $140,993 10/1/94 9/1/98 Mobile AL Land $230,683 2/1/97 9/1/01 Mobile AL Land $103,394 5/1/98 5/1/02 Mobile AL Land $232,192 5/1/01 1/1/05 Mobile AL Soundproofing $77,557 5/16/07 9/27/12 Fort Smith AR Land $90,756 3/1/92 12/1/92 $111,311 Fort Smith AR Monitoring $20,555 5/8/94 7/24/97 Little Rock AR Land $3,314,737 5/1/06 10/15/15 $4,736,189 Little Rock AR Land $1,421,452 5/1/92 8/1/99 Bullhead City AZ Planning $8,250 9/13/11 1/31/16 $8,250 Phoenix AZ Soundproofing $4,996,000 8/1/97 1/11/02 $297,164,485 Phoenix AZ Land $35,051,425 10/29/03 2/28/06 Phoenix AZ Soundproofing $34,048,279 5/19/03 2/28/06 Phoenix AZ Multi-phase $75,000,000 3/1/05 4/30/09 Phoenix AZ Multi-phase $25,900,000 10/1/08 2/28/10 Phoenix AZ Multi-phase $120,168,781 6/1/10 6/1/16 Phoenix AZ Planning $2,000,000 1/1/15 7/1/19 Phoenix Mesa AZ Planning $11,175 1/1/99 5/1/01 $11,175 Tucson AZ Land $396,888 12/7/94 11/19/97 $3,685,361 Tucson AZ Land $3,288,473 2/1/91 12/15/94 Bob Hope CA Land $27,829,178 9/1/91 11/1/99 $95,838,410 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $16,000,000 12/1/00 6/30/09 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $4,570,000 4/1/02 6/30/09 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $437,200 7/1/95 9/30/95 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $43,525,109 6/1/96 6/30/15 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $730,774 4/1/91 9/30/94 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $770,931 6/1/01 6/1/02 Bob Hope CA Monitoring $64,836 9/1/99 11/30/99 Bob Hope CA Planning $282,440 9/1/96 6/30/00 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $429,490 3/1/97 3/30/98 Bob Hope CA Soundproofing $85,088 6/1/04 6/30/05 Bob Hope CA Planning $113,364 4/1/07 3/31/17 Bob Hope CA Monitoring $1,000,000 11/1/08 6/1/09 Carlsbad CA Misc $18,226 10/8/07 12/31/15 $18,226 Fresno CA Soundproofing $444,400 0/1/96 8/1/99 $2,169,127

Airport Noise Report 42 December 5, 2018 162

CITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Fresno CA Soundproofing $203,814 9/1/90` 6/30/06 Fresno CA Planning $56,799 3/1/04 6/30/06 Fresno CA Planning $1,464,114 7/1/98 3/30/10 Long Beach CA Soundproofing $4,600,000 8/1/09 6/30/13 $4,600,000 Los Angeles CA Multi-phase $878,334,707 8/1/99 12/31/14 $1,042,079,093 Los Angeles CA Monitoring $3,450,000 4/1/05 6/30/11 Los Angeles CA Soundproofing $35,000,000 11/1/07 4/1/12 Los Angeles CA Multi-phase $50,000,000 1/1/08 12/31/09 Los Angeles CA Soundproofing $27,800,572 4/1/07 12/1/15 Los Angeles CA Soundproofing $3,115,155 6/1/11 12/1/15 Los Angeles CA Soundproofing $44,378,659 6/1/12 8/1/20 Modesto CA Planning $15,750 12/1/06 1/6/10 $15,750 Monterey CA Soundproofing $824,321 6/19/01 7/15/02 $1,864,730 Monterey CA Planning $50,130 6/1/96 11/1/97 Monterey CA Soundproofing $322,715 2/11/02 8/15/05 Monterey CA Soundproofing $211,022 10/1/03 10/1/06 Monterey CA Soundproofing $80,026 7/28/04 6/30/06 Monterey CA Soundproofing $97,679 8/24/05 5/31/08 Monterey CA Soundproofing $196,008 8/1/05 8/31/09 Monterey CA Planning $15,000 7/1/06 6/30/08 Monterey CA Soundproofing $67,829 2/25/09 6/30/10 Oakland CA Monitoring $436,267 1/1/90 3/1/97 $7,194,619 Oakland CA Soundproofing $240,000 4/4/97 3/31/00 Oakland CA Soundproofing $6,199,070 6/1/99 11/24/99 Oakland CA Monitoring $319,282 6/1/04 8/1/14 Ontario CA Multi-phase $40,971,757 1/1/98 4/30/16 $40,971,757 Sacramento CA Monitoring $1,525,491 3/1/97 6/1/98 $1,525,491 San Diego CA Soundproofing $2,418,000 10/1/94 4/1/00 $58,463,454 San Diego CA Soundproofing $1,122,000 4/19/99 2/10/03 San Diego CA Monitoring $1,224,000 1/1/03 6/30/07 San Diego CA Soundproofing $4,626,000 1/1/03 5/20/03 San Diego CA Soundproofiing $5,132,960 7/30/03 6/30/09 San Diego CA Soundproofing $4,512,915 3/1/06 61/31/11 San Diego CA Planning $241,555 6/3/1/06 61/31/11 San Diego CA Soundproofing $9,612,376 7/1/10 6/30/12 San Diego CA Soundproofing $17,469,000 9/1/12 8/1/19 San Diego CA Monitoring $476,800 1/1/13 3/1/16 San Diego CA Soundproofing $11,627,848 9/1/16 12/1/20 San Jose CA Soundproofing $47,984,474 8/1/91 10/18/06 $117,839,197 San Jose CA Monitoring $183,775 8/1/91 6/1/94 San Jose CA Soundproofing $3,284,264 6/17/02 6/30/04 San Jose CA Monitoring $76,684 4/1/99 6/1/99 San Jose CA Soundproofing $4,500,000 4/2/03 6/30/11 San Jose CA Monitoring $221,000 7/1/00 12/6/00 San Jose CA Soundproofing $61,589,000 9/22/03 6/30/10 Pueblo CO Planning $21,500 9/1/95 6/9/97 $21,500 New Haven CT Planning $5,368 7/1/10 7/19/13 $5,368 Windsor Locks CT Soundproofing $1,450,000 5/1/08 2/1/10 $2,075,000 Windsor Locks CT Soundproofing $625,000 8/1/10 12/31/12

Airport Noise Report 43 December 5, 2018 163

CITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Fort Lauderdale FL Monitoring $658,000 3/11/92 9/30/96 $44,990,047 Fort Lauderdale FL Easements $32,047 8/1/01 8/1/05 Fort Lauderdale FL Soundproofing $35,000,000 8/1/10 12/31/19 Fort Lauderdale FL Soundproofing $9,300,000 10/1/15 10/1/19 Fort Myers FL Planning $132,000 12/1/93 6/1/95 $132,000 Gainesville FL Land $144,869 7/1/97 12/1/00 $153,847 Gainesville FL Planning $8,978 12/1/07 12/1/09 Jacksonvillle FL Land $6,000,000 1/1/06 12/20/10 $6,000,000 Key West FL Soundproofing $350,000 9/1/00 3/1/03 $4,264,566 Key West FL Soundproofing $81,138 6/1/03 6/1/06 Key West FL Soundproofing $70,715 11/1/02 4/1/05 Key West FL Planning $1,980 8/15/02 8/15/04 Key West FL Planning $1,980 6/1/03 12/104 Key West FL Soundproofing $63,316 5/1/03 2/1/06 Key West FL Planning $1,159 7/1/04 5/1/06 Key West FL Soundproofing $200,239 2/1/05 5/8/06 Key West FL Soundproofing $191,661 2/1/05 5/8/06 Key West FL Soundproofing $56,536 8/1/07 2/1/08 Key West FL Soundproofing $219,603 4/1/08 1/1/09 Key West FL Soundproofing $33,038 8/1/08 2/1/09 Key West FL Soundproofing $131,407 10/1/09 12/31/18 Key West FL Planning $58,426 1/1/16 6/1/20 Key West FL Soundproofing $2,803,368 12/1/17 12/1/22 Melbourne FL Planning $21,200 7/1/12 9/1/16 $21,200 Orlando FL Planning $21,919 12/18/90 5/31/91 $1,174,287 Orlando FL Multi-phase $688,000 8/1/05 10/31/13 Orlando FL Planning $28,395 2/1/99 12/1/00 Orlando FL Land $199,189 8/1/02 3/1/07 Orlando FL Land $73,775 8/1/06 4/1/10 Orlando FL Land $65,789 6/1/08 12/1/10 Orlando FL Land $97,220 9/1/09 8/1/13 Pensacola FL Land $597,708 3/1/93 6/1/98 $732,264 Pensacola FL Misc $65,076 3/1/95 6/1/96 Pensacola FL Land $69,480 9/1/95 12/1/98 Sarasota FL Land $3,063,506 10/1/91 6/17/09 $4,538,410 Sarasota FL Land $1,474,904 10/1/91 4/17/06 Tallahassee FL Land $3,128,225 5/1/99 1/31/04 $3,257,555 Tallahassee FL Planning $129,330 7/1/98 3/3/98 Tampa FL Misc $1,692,110 2/1/02 6/1/05 $1,692,110 West Palm Beach FL Land $1,000,000 1/1/98 6/1/98 $12,064,464 West Palm Beach FL Land $2,302,300 6/1/98 9/1/00 West Palm Beach FL Land $374,616 1/1/99 9/1/00 West Palm Beach FL Land $1,387,548 3/1/99 9/1/00 West Palm Beach FL Land $5,000,000 9/1/99 9/1/00 West Palm Beach FL Land $2,000,000 2/1/03 11/1/05 Atlanta GA Land $7,380,420 8/1/99 9/15/06 $37,405,420 Atlanta GA Soundproofing $30,025,000 11/1/08 5/28/20 Des Moines IA Multi-phase $945,178 8/1/05 8/1/06 $945,178 Bloomington IL Land $35,000 11/1/97 11/30/98 $35,000

Airport Noise Report 44 December 5, 2018 164

CITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Chicago Midway IL Misc $297,707 9/1/03 3/1/94 $510,967,165 Chicago Midway IL Misc $11,493 5/1/95 10/1/95 Chicago Miidway IL Monitoring $887,978 6/1/95 12/1/96 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $7,497,964 1/1/93 12/1/96 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $1,140,000 4/1/97 10/1/97 Chicago Midway IL Planning $1,425,000 11/1/94 4/1/96 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $22,800,000 4/1/98 12/7/01 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $71,817,307 6/1/96 2/1/01 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $10,000,000 4/1/01 12/6/02 Chicago Midway IL Misc $5,434,460 11/1/98 5/1/00 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $20,000,000 3/1/01 12/13/02 Chicago Midway IL Misc $6,478,580 8/5/02 11/29/02 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $111,144,378 6/3/02 6/1/05 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $233,209,000 4/1/08 11/1/12 Chicago Midway IL Soundproofing $8,606,098 6/1/05 10/1/06 Chicago Midway IL Misc $10,217,200 4/1/19 12/31/20 Chicago OʼHare IL Multi-phase $586,857 6/1/95 5/1/00 $989,502,335 Chicago OʼHare IL Monitoring $3,900,000 2/1/95 10/1/96 Chicago OʼHare IL Misc. $42,389 5/1/95 9/1/95 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $54,873,960 6/1/92 12/1/01 Chicago OʼHare IL Misc $2,993,028 7/1/96 2/1/97 Chicago OʼHare IL Planning $9,419,828 1/1/96 12/15/00 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $179,513,603 6/1/96 2/1/01 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $102,131,188 6/1/92 2/1/01 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $21,922,127 6/1/97 12/15/99 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $60,000,000 10/1/00 12/28/01 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $54,400,000 12/17/01 12/27/02 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $122,000,000 6/1/99 11/29/02 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $8,000,000 4/1/02 10/1/03 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $32,120,000 4/1/04 7/1/05 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $4,880,000 4/1/04 12/1/04 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $48,654,000 6/1/05 10/30/15 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $27,750,650 9/23/05 4/30/07 Chicago OʼHare IL Monitoring $2,000,000 9/20/06 10/3/14 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $247,195,313 2/1/12 12/31/15 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $4,635,392 9/1/08 9/1/12 Chicago OʼHare IL Soundproofing $2,484,000 4/1/13 9/1/16 Chicago Rockford IL Planning $16,088 2/1/93 3/1/99 $16,088 Moline IL Land $335,915 8/1/91 6/1/94 $700,999 Moline IL Land $365,084 6/1/95 6/1/97 Peoria IL Land $382,426 5/1/94 5/1/96 $816,880 Peoria IL Soundproofing $289,013 3/1/94 8/1/98 Peoria IL Land $145,441 6/1/94 6/15/99 Springfield IL Land $24,740 8/1/91 6/1/94 $165,351 Springfield IL Land $14,721 8/1/91 11/1/92 Springfield IL Land $551 3/27/92 4/28/93 Springfield IL Land $12,275 8/1/91 7/1/92 Springfield IL Land $24,897 8/1/91 6/1/94 Springfield IL Land $88,167 12/1/93 9/1/99

Airport Noise Report 45 December 5, 2018 165

ICITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Indianapolis IN Land $42,532,859 1/1/93 12/31/00 $43,106,543 Indianapolis IN Misc $498,684 1/27/98 11/10/00 Indianapolis IN Planning $75,000 9/6/96 3/20/00 Manhattan KS Planning $16,036 6/1/07 8/1/10 $16,036 Covington KY Monitoring $138,090 11/1/93 11/16/97 $45,449,469 Covington KY Multi-phase $26,057,786 7/15/91 12/31/99 Covington KY Planning $336,954 4/1/92 1/1/93 Covington KY Multi-phase $10,510,365 1/1/94 6/1/10 Covington KY Planning $344,215 6/1/98 4/1/00 Covington KY Multi-phase $3,293,643 1/1/01 12/31/11 Covington KY Planning $1,087,628 11/1/03 9/30/08 Covington KY Misc $125,000 3/1/03 12/31/05 Covington KY Soundproofing $3,555,788 5/1/04 12/31/08 Lexington KY Multi-phase $56,993 12/1/94 6/30/97 $196,348 Lexington KY Multi-phase $139,355 1/1/96 5/1/98 Louisville KY Land $75,594,112 1/1/96 6/30/17 $79,168,612 Louisville KY Monitoring $224,500 1/1/01 5/1/04 Louisville KY Soundproofing $250,000 7/1/10 3/31/12 Louisville KY Soundproofing $2,650,000 5/1/13 12/31/17 Louisville KY Planning $450,000 1/1/16 12/31/17 Baton Rouge LA Multi-phase $1,315,124 5/1/97 12/31/07 $1,315,124 New Orleans LA Multi-phase $3,750,000 1/1/05 12/31/10 $3,750,000 Boston MA Soundproofing $15,323,217 1/1/91 12/31/00 $30,211,432 Boston MA Soundproofing $8,590,000 7/1/01 2/29/08 Boston MA Soundproofing $5,200,000 9/1/05 3/31/10 Boston MA Soundproofing $1,098,215 7/1/12 6/1/15 Baltimore MD Monitoring $1,578,000 7/1/11 12/31/18 $1,578,000 Detroit MI Misc $225,000 9/1/93 12/1/01 $104,695,156 Detroit MI Multi-phase $104,084,000 5/1/92 3/31/08 Detroit MI Planning $386,156 10/1/03 9/30/09 Traverse City MI Planning $7,238 9/10//04 9/3/05 $7,238 Duluth MN Planning $17,255 10/1/94 7/1/98 $17,255 Minneapolis MN Monitoring $230,273 11/1/90 2/1/96 $188,762,970 Minneapolis MN Soundproofing $450,537 2/1/91 4/1/92 Minneapolis MN Multi-phase $103,237,546 1/1/92 12/1/01 Minneapolis MN Land $21,500,000 2/1/93 2/1/99 Minneapolis MN Soundproofing $2,617,279 3/1/94 9/1/97 Minneapolis MN Soundproofing $19,768,494 9/1/00 8/16/04 Minneapolis MN Soundproofing $7,799,500 1/1/02 6/30/07 Minneapolis MN Land $33,159,341 10/19/01 3/3/1/09 Kansas City MO Land $10,766,850 8/1/95 12/1/04 $10,766,850 St. Louis MO Land $22,177,178 911/5/90 6/30/11 $54,451,862 St. Louis MO Land $31,766,148 1/5/90 4/30/16 St. Louis MO Planning $508,536 9/1/07 8/1/11 Rota MP Soundproofing $4,480 11/30/03 9/30/04 $4,480 Saipan MP Soundproofing $80,648 11/1/03 9/30/04 $80,648 Tinian MP Soundproofing $4,480 11/30/03 9/30/04 $4,480 Great Falls MT Soundproofing $431,271 8/4/09 12/31/19 $431,271 Missoula MT Planning $20,670 8/1/00 8/1/04 $20,670

Airport Noise Report 46 December 5, 2018 166

CITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Charlotte NC Multi-phase $2,408,536 1/1/00 7/1/02 $129,949,498 Charlotte NC Land $79,285,796 4/1/97 12/1/05 Charlotte NC Multi-phase $5,508,460 12/1/95 6/1/05 Charlotte NC Planning $2,226,803 10/1-02 10/1/08 Charlotte NC Flight Tracking $225,403 7/1/09 7/1/11 Charlotte NC Planning $294,500 7/1/10 7/1/11 Charlotte NC Land $40,000,000 1/1/14 12/31/18 Pitt-Greenville NC Land $115,000 10/1/04 1/1/24 $115,000 Fargo ND Land $351,532 10/11/06 12/1/06 $361,548 Manchester NH Multi-phase $1,400,000 3/1/94 12/1/97 $4,650,000 Manchester NH Soundproofing $3,250,000 10/1/99 6/1/09 Las Vegas NV Land $26,250,000 5/1/93 12/5/13 $57,764,023 Las Vegas NV Land $1,440,492 7/1/93 12/5/13 Las Vegas NV Land $12,679,807 11/5/90 12/5/13 Las Vegas NV Land $5,250,000 5/1/93 12/5/13 Las Vegas NV Land $10,654,182 12/1/95 12/5/13 Las Vegas NV Planning $1,489,542 5/1/92 1/1/94 Reno NV Soundproofing $155,744 8/1/94 3/1/98 $962,725 Reno NV Planning $339,994 8/1/01 8/1/01 Reno NV Soundproofing $333,833 7/1/11 5/30/15 Reno NV Soundproofing $133,154 12/1/12 11/30/14 Albany NY Planning $45,000 3/1/94 6/1/00 $45,000 Buffalo NY Multi-phase $1,997,550 5/25/09 10/30/13 $5,056,480 Buffalo NY Soundproofing $3,058,930 10/1/08 12/10/18 Islip NY Multi-phase $671,891 6/1/93 9/1/97 $671,891 Syracuse NY Soundproofing $1,354,899 10/1/01 9/30/06 $1,354,899 Akron OH Planning $4,146 11/1/95 6/1/97 $184,328 Akron OH Land $14,635 12/1/91 3/1/93 Akron OH Land $5,293 10/1/92 6/1/94 Akron OH Land $19,210 1/3/92 6/1/93 Akron OH Land $21,334 7/1/94 6/1/95 Akron OH Planning $27,001 11/1/95 9/1/99 Akron OH Planning $2,722 5/1/98 6/1/99 Akron OH Land $12,911 3/1/99 3/1/01 Akron OH Plannng $77,076 9/1/12 3/1/15 Cleveland OH Soundproofing $22,362,400 6/1/95 12/1/97 $83,962,509 Cleveland OH Land $7,137,600 2/1/94 12/31/98 Cleveland OH Soundproofing $8,595,641 3/1/98 12/31/00 Cleveland OH Land $25,282,298 3/1/97 12/31/00 Cleveland OH Planning $584,570 1/1/97 10/1/00 Cleveland OH Soundproofing $20,000,000 5/1/98 12/1/04 Columbus OH Misc $61,752 3/1/92 9/1/93 $3,884,986 Columbus OH Misc $16,509 8/1/91 2/1/92 Columbus OH Soundproofing $20,323 2/1/91 1/1/92 Columbus OH Soundproofing $60,547 9/1/91 12/1/92 Columbus OH Soundproofing $71,974 2/1/91 1/1/92 Columbus OH Land $119,600 3/1/92 9/1/92 Columbus OH Land $519,723 9/1/93 9/1/94

Airport Noise Report 47 December 5, 2018 167

CITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Columbus OH Land $379,070 9/1/93 9/1/94 Columbus OH Soundproofing $269,810 4/1/94 10/1/94 Columbus OH Planning $13,822 6/1/96 7/1/96 Columbus OH Soundproofing $906,369 8/1/95 6/1/99 Columbus OH Monitoring $219,653 3/1/10 12/1/12 Columbus OH Misc $489,894 4/`/09 12/20/20 Columbus OH Soundproofing $735,940 4/1/11 4/1/12 Dayton OH Land $309,206 10/1/91 12/1/95 $1,306,176 Dayton OH Planning $996,970 1/1/99 12/1/06 Toledo OH Multi-phase $1,676,083 4/1/98 11/1/98 $1,676,083 Tulsa OK Multi-phase $6,125,191 4/1/00 9/30/13 $6,125,191 Portland OR Monitoring $715,750 1/1/05 12/31/13 $715,750 Allentown PA Land $244,387 9/1/97 12/1/99 $1,220,696 Allentown PA Land $220,475 9/1/97 12/1/99 Allentown PA Monitoring $30,556 7/1/00 5/1/02 Allentown PA Planning $33,334 5/1/01 12/1/02 Allentown PA Land $91,944 9/1/00 2/1/03 Allentown PA Soundproofing $500,000 1/1/02 6/1/05 Allentown PA Soundproofing $100,000 12/1/00 4/1/04 Erie PA Multi-phase $118,518 1/1/93 12/31/96 $374,520 Erie PA Land $256,002 1/1/01 8/30/01 Latrobe PA Planning $16,173 5/11/99 7/3/03 $16,173 Pittsburgh PA Soundproofing $700,541 8/1/00 12/31/06 $1,858,431 Pittsburgh PA Soundproofing $1,157,890 1/1/90 6/30/05 State College PA Planning $10,000 9/6/00 7/31/04 $10,000 Providence RI Land $15,157,387 7/1/99 7/1/02 $36,757,985 Providence RI Land $12,658,400 7/1/06 6/1/12 Providence RI Multi-phase $8,942,198 9/1/13 6/30/19 Chattanooga TN Land $100,000 8/26/99 12/4/01 $115,000 Chattanooga TN Land $15,000 3/1/98 12/4/01 Knoxville TN Multi-phase $528,431 10/1/94 6/1/01 $528,431 Nashville TN Planning $106,272 10/1/02 11/1/06 $54,674,068 Nashville TN Multi-phase $54,447,421 6/1/90 6/30/92 Nashville TN Monitoring $120,375 7/1/06 6/30/11 Brownsville TX Planning $108,702 9/1/98 12/1/02 $190,562 Brownsville TX Land $81,860 3/1/04 9/30/10 Dallas Love TX Multi-phase $1,913,478 1/1/92 8/1/05 $1,913,478 Dallas/Ft. Worth TX Monitoring $1,266,151 3/9/94 10/31/97 $1,266,151 Harlingen TX Land $96,630 2/1/93 2/1/94 $96,630 Laredo TX Planning $15,786 5/13/92 10/1/94 $2,111,304 Laredo TX Soundproofing $2,081,872 8/1/09 12/1/17 Laredo TX Planning $13,646 10/1/11 4/1/14 San Antonio TX Soundproofing $42,539,846 4/1/05 10/31/18 $42,784,999 San Antonio TX Monitoring $245,153 12/1/03 12/31/11 Salt Lake City UT Land $523,788 5/1/94 10/1/95 $1,379,268 Salt Lake City UT Land $331,072 7/1/98 2/1/99 Salt Lake City UT Land $524,408 6/1/01 8/1/01 Lynchburg VA Land $17,762 1/1/97 11/1/99 $17,762

Airport Noise Report 48 December 5, 2018 168

CITY STATE WORK CODE AMOUNT START COMPLETE TOTAL

Richmond VA Planning $15,931 12/1/93 10/1/95 $15,931 Roanoke VA Land $145,000 9/2/03 4/1/06 $388,308 Roanoke VA Planning $2,458 6/29/00 6/6/03 Roanoke VA Multi-phase $240,850 8/29/03 9/30/10 Burlington VT Land $996,869 1/1/01 12/31/13 $1,012,739 Burlington VT Planning $5,463 3/1/06 12/31/07 Burlington VT Planning $10,407 8/1/12 7/31/13 Bellingham WA Land $166,000 1/1/92 12/9/99 $1,352,350 Bellingham WA Land $732,000 8/1/91 3/1/95 Bellingham WA Land $454,350 9/1/94 3/1/97 Seattle WA Multi-phase $14,939,111 1/1/92 12/1/95 $124,226,950 Seattle WA Soundproofing $16,134,627 1/1/92 12/1/97 Seattle WA Soundproofing $153,212 1/1/92 12/1/95 Seattle WA Multi-phase $43,000,000 1/1/96 9/30/05 Seattle WA Multi-phase $50,000,000 1/1/98 12/31/20 Appleton WI Land $14,502 9/1/91 10/1/92 $14,502 Milwaukee WI Land $4,593,204 8/1/95 12/31/18 $59,188,477 Milwaukee WI Land $1,921,127 11/1/95 12/31/18 Milwaukee WI Misc $40,956 12/6/95 2/28/02 Milwaukee WI Multi-phase $37,606,404 6/1/97` 11/1/18 Milwaukee WI Soundproofing $3,059,554 8/1/97 11/30/18 Milwaukee WI Misc $50,000 6/1/01 3/1/02 Milwaukee WI Misc $4,382,162 3/1/02 12/1/03 Milwaukee WI Planning $230,000 1/1/02 11/30/10 Milwaukee WI Soundproofing $6,953,470 11/1/09 2/27/16 Milwaukee WI Misc $160,000 4/1/10 12/31/18 Milwaukee WI Land $156,000 4/1/10 12/1/18 Milwaukee WI Planning $35,600 7/1/10 12/1/10 Cheyenne WY Land $81,192 2/1/94 3/1/96 $210,951 Cheyenne WY Misc $129,759 7/1/97 10/1/98 Jackson WY Monitoring $47,272 9/1/02 12/1/03 $73,588 Jackson WY Monitoring $26,316 7/1/07 12/31/18

Airport Noise Report 49 169 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 42 December 7, 2018

Litigation In This Issue… COURT REJECTS CHALLENGES TO FAA’S ENV. REVIEW OF SOCAL METROPLEX PROJECT Litigation ... A federal ap- In a solid legal victory for FAA – but one with no precedential value – the U.S. peals court rejects challenges Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Nov. 30 rejected four challenges to FAA’s to the Enviromental Assess- environmental review of airspace changes made under its Southern California ment FAA prepared for its (SoCal) Metroplex project. Southern California Metro- A three-judge panel of the Court issued an unpublished memorandum denying plex project. The ruling is a the petitions for review of FAA’s Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the SoCal Metroplex project. solid legal victory for the “Though the petitioners raise many arguments attacking the FAA’s environmen- agency but has no preceden- tal analysis, they failed to show the agency’s conclusions are arbitrary and capri- tial value because it was is- cious. The petitions for review are therefore denied,” the panel concluded. sued as an unpublished It found that none of the petitioners’ objections to FAA’s environmental analysis memorandum - p. 169 “identifies a significant deficiency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Vision 100 Act, or the Clean Air Act, and none of them indicates the FAA failed to take a ‘hard look’ at the environmental effects of the project.” Electric Aircraft ... TRB is seeking a consultant to pre- (Continued on p. 170) pare a guidebook under its Airport Cooperative Re- search Program to help air- ACRP ports account for electric aircraft operations in their GUIDEBOOK WILL HELP AIRPORTS PLAN planning efforts - p. 169 FOR NEW ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS On Nov. 29, the Transportation Research Board issued a Request for Propos- Flight Path Dispersion ... als (RFP) seeking a contactor to prepare a guidebook to help airport industry practi- The Boeing Company is tioners account for electric aircraft operations in their planning efforts. awarded a patent on a Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Project 03-51, Electric Aircraft method to modify aircraft on the Horizon – An Airport Planning Perspective, will be funded at a level of flight paths so that aircraft $450,000 and will run for 18 months. The deadline for responding to the RFP is Jan. 15, 2019. remain within containment “Design innovation for electrically powered and hybrid-electric aircraft is ac- boundaries of RNP instru- celerating rapidly, with the possibility of electric aircraft being rolled out in the ment flight procedures while next 5 years,” TRB explained in a summary of the project. reducing noise impact to “There are many potential benefits of electric aircraft, including lower O&M communities underneath the costs and reduced environmental impacts. But not all air service can be replaced by flight path and meeting spac- electrically powered aircraft, as batteries are heavy and significantly less energy dense compared with conventional aviation fuels, and electric aircraft may have ing requirements of air traffic different flight characteristics. controllers - p. 171

(Continued on p. 171)

Airport Noise Report 50 December 7, 2018 170

Litigation, from p. 169 ______Following is a summary of the Court’s ruling on those issues by the law firm Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell: While this is a solid legal victory for FAA, it is not a major victory because the Court’s memorandum is unpub- Air Quality Conformity. lished, which means it is not available for citation as prece- “Petitioners argued that the FAA had failed to comply dent because the Court deems its ruling to have insufficient with the Clean Air Act’s conformity requirements by con- precedential value. cluding that the SoCal Metroplex could be presumed to con- The petitions for review were filed by Culver City, CA, form to the Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan. the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association, and two individ- Petitioners asserted that because most of the changes would uals in the case (Donald A. Vaughn v. FAA (No. 16-1377), occur below the 3,000-foot “mixing height” and would in- which originally consolidated eight separate lawsuits chal- crease fuel burn, the FAA could not presume that the proce- lenging SoCal flight path changes that FAA put into effect in dures would have only a de minimus effect. The Court 2016. rejected those arguments finding that, in fact, most of the The City of Newport Beach, Orange County (which changes would occur above 3,000 feet and that the FAA was joined the lawsuit), City of Laguna Beach, and Benedict Hills justified in finding the changes below 3,000 feet were de min- Civic Association dropped their lawsuits after reaching settle- imus based on the multi-factor balancing test the FAA was ment agreements with FAA. authorized to use in connection with NextGen projects. FAA Considered Reducing Noise, Emissions Climate Change/Greenhouse Gases. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected the “Petitioners argued that the FAA had failed to adequately plaintiffs’ arguments that the FAA had insufficiently consid- consider how the SoCal Metroplex would affect global warm- ered reducing aircraft noise and emissions in its Environmen- ing because the FAA claimed that the project would increase tal Assessment of the SoCal Metroplex. greenhouse gas emissions by only a small amount. Petitioners The three-judge panel wrote: argued that Council on Environmental Quality guidance did “According to the petitioners, the FAA has a statutory not permit dismissing climate change impacts based only on a duty not only to consider noise, but to consider ways of re- comparison to global emissions. The Court found, however, ducing it. Specifically, the SoCal Metroplex project is part of that the project greenhouse gas emissions were so small they a broader FAA program called the Next-Generation Air fell below the CEQ’s threshold for conducting further analy- Transportation System (NextGen), which aims to transition sis. the national airspace from using outdated procedures to ones that take advantage of new technologies such as the Global Ruling Unlike Phoenix Case Positioning System. One of the seven goals for NextGen is “Unlike the Phoenix case in which the FAA relied on a that the FAA must “take into consideration, to the greatest ex- Categorical Exclusion for its environmental analysis of tent practicable, design of airport approach and departure NextGen procedures, the FAA prepared an Environmental flight paths to reduce exposure of noise and emissions pollu- Analysis and Finding of No Significant Impact before imple- tion on affected residents.” Vision 100 Act, § 709(c)(7). menting the SoCal Metroplex,” Kaplan Kirsch explained in Based upon this goal, the petitioners argue the FAA must announcing the Court’s decision in Vaughn. strive to reduce noise below the pre-existing level, rather than “On that record [in SoCal], the Court was willing to give simply avoid any significant increase in noise. the FAA considerable deference, with respect to both the “As we read the statute, however, the FAA has suffi- FAA’s balancing of interests in designing the new air traffic ciently considered reducing noise levels. The White Paper the control procedures and in the FAA’s construction of its own FAA developed in response to public comments describes orders and guidance. This decision underscores how difficult several ways in which the agency modified the project in it is to challenge FAA decisions regarding air traffic control order to address community concerns about noise. For exam- and safety,” the law firm explained. ple, due to “local concern about the proposed design elimi- Kaplan Kirsch represented the City of Phoenix in its suc- nating [a particular] waypoint,” which would lead to greater cessful challenge of RNAV departure procedures at Phoenix noise over certain areas, the FAA redesigned the procedures Sky Harbor International Airport. “with an intervening, redundant waypoint” in order to “ad- On Aug. 29, 2017, a different three-judge panel of the dress community concerns ... while providing the airspace U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit dealt a major legal safety and efficiency enhancements sought by the proposed blow to FAA’s implementation of NextGen airspace changes action.” These modifications demonstrate the FAA considered by ruling that the agency’s imposition of new flight paths and reducing noise and emission.” NextGen procedures at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport violated federal law. The panel also rejected arguments by the plaintiffs that FAA’s implementation of airspace changes without noti- the FAA had failed to adequately consider how the SoCal air- fying local elected officials and residents was arbitrary and space changes would affect air quality and climate change. capricious and violated the National Historic Preservation

Airport Noise Report 51 December 7, 2018 171

Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Department ACRP, from p. 169______of Transportation Act, and FAA’s Environmental Order 1050.1E, the Court held (20 ANR 111). “Yet in certain applications (e.g., short-haul and cargo The Phoenix decision was the first to vacate NextGen service), electric power may be more efficient than traditional routes for failure to follow environmental laws and involve power. The advent of electric aircraft offers both significant stakeholders. opportunities and disruptions for airports and their surround- But the Vaughn ruling shows that Courts defer to FAA on ing communities. technical matters and those considering challenging FAA “Airports may have new roles to play regarding energy NextGen airspace changes need to find major procedural flaw generation and transmission; at the same time, electric aircraft in FAA’s environmental analysis or other major mistakes for may impact revenue from fuel sales. Airports need guidance the Court to rule against the agency. to be ready for the introduction and accommodation of elec- Kaplan Kirsch also represents the State of Maryland in its tric aircraft into the airport environment.” challenge of NextGen arrival paths into Washington Reagan The guidebook on electric aircraft should, among other National Airport, which FAA also approved under a Categori- things, “estimate environmental (e.g. emissions, local air cal Exclusion, rather than conducting an Environmental As- quality, noise) and land use compatibility implications” of the sessment. So Maryland’s litigation, which will be considered addition of electric aircraft at airports. by yet another three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit next year, Further information on the RFP is at is more like the Phoenix case than the Vaughn case in terms https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?Pro- of the type of environmental review FAA conducted. jectID=4625 Disappointed in Ruling “Obviously, we are disappointed with the court's ruling,” Steven Taber of the Pasadena, CA, law firm Leech Tishman Flight Path Dispersion Fiscaldo & Lampl, told ANR. He represents Donald Vaughn and the Santa Monica BOEING GETS PATENT ON METHOD Canyon Civic Association (SMCCA) in the case. TO DISPERSE PBN FLIGHT TRACKS “I had held out hope that trying to address the issues of TO REDUCE COMMUNITY NOISE aviation noise through the specific mandate of Vision 100 would sway the court to require the FAA to take a harder look On Nov. 27, The Boeing Company was awarded a patent at the impact their actions have on people on the ground,” on a method for modifying a flight path to be flown by the Taber told ANR. aircraft “that causes the aircraft to remain within containment “The court's finding that a couple of tweaks to the flight boundaries of a Required Navigation Performance (RNP) in- routes based on a handful of community responses without strument flight procedure while reducing noise impact to the addressing the overarching need for noise reduction satisfied communities underneath the flight path and meeting the spac- Vision 100's mandate was unfortunate. In essence, the court ing requirements of the air traffic controller.” treated the Vision 100 the same as the NEPA arguments: the Boeing declined to discuss the patent with ANR but it ap- FAA checked all of its procedural boxes, so it could move pears to provide the variation in precise, narrow NextGen forward with its SoCal Metroplex project. This is just another flight paths that communities have been demanding. decision that underlines the need for enforceable noise stan- Details of Patent No. 10,140,873 “Performance-based dards for aviation noise that protect public health.” track variation for aircraft flight management,” can be viewed He noted that “one bright spot [in the ruling] was that the on the web site of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Go Court rejected the FAA's argument that SMCCA should be to http://patft.uspto.gov. In the left hand column, click on dismissed because they did not file comments within the “Number Search” in blue. Then type in the patent number. comment period. The Court brushed that argument aside, stat- The patent describes methods to implement variations in ing that the restriction is on the issues presented, not the par- flight paths that can assist with spreading a noise footprint ties,” he explained. stemming from repeatable operations as well as reducing con- Taber also stresssed that the decision is not published, is centrated traffic patterns. not precedent for the court, and cannot be cited in future Following is an excerpt from the patent on why it was de- cases as precedent. veloped: The plantiffs Taber represents have made no decision yet “Performance-Based Navigation (PBN), including the regarding whether to seek reconsideration of the panel’s rul- widely used Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and ing and/or a hearing en banc before the full D.C. Circuit, to Area Navigation (RNAV) instrument procedures, are key appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, or to accept the parts of airspace modernization worldwide. For example, ruling. RNAV and RNP-based procedure deployment is a component of the United States’ airspace modernization, the Federal Avi- ation Administration (FAA) NextGen program, that is imple-

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menting new PBN routes and procedures to leverage emerging technolo- ANR EDITORIAL gies and aircraft navigation capabilities. Modern commercial aircraft fly PBN flight paths with very high precision. The aircraft can exploit high ADVISORY BOARD accuracy provided by global positioning system (GPS)-based navigation systems, modern Flight Management Systems (FMSs) and Flight Control Systems (FCSs). Due to this highly accurate path-keeping capability, the Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. use of PBN removes much of the variability traditionally seen in aircraft Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP flight paths, and results in highly repeatable operations. Denver “The benefits of using RNAV and RNP procedures thus include improved aircraft stability on approach, improved aircraft predictability for Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. air traffic control, reduced fuel burn, lower track miles, improved airport Consultant capacity, reduced (concentrated) noise footprints, and paths tailored to Laguna Beach, CA avoid noise sensitive areas. However, these same procedures can be detri- mental for the exact reason that modern commercial aircraft fly RNAV Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. and RNP defined flight paths with very high precision. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP “While accuracy and repeatability can be desirable, there are a number Chicago of operational and safety issues that could benefit from judicious variation in flight paths. For example, in approach operations, a concentrated noise Gregory S. Walden, Esq. footprint stemming from repeatable operations creates noise issues for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld communities under the flight paths. In addition, fixed, consistent flight Washington, D.C. paths mean that air traffic controllers (ATC) lose some ability to fine-tune aircraft longitudinal spacing that the ATC once exercised by vectoring traffic. Furthermore, highly repeatable path-keeping traffic means a higher risk of loss of separation between aircraft if the concentrated portions of the traffic streams conflict. “Existing solutions related to path variation with use of RNP are limited to offsetting flight paths relative to the originally-defined procedure. For example, ATC may pull some traffic off of fixed routes to avoid or or- ganize traffic using vectors. However, this negates efficiency and other benefits of fixed track use, and limits the ability of on-board aircraft systems to provide alerts supporting high integrity guidance and navigation. Further solutions provide for aircraft to fly an offset path, in which both the offset path and associated boundaries are shifted by an amount of the offset. However, this method is not usable in constrained airspace associated with arrival, approach and departure routes in a vicinity of airports where locations of original boundaries may be integral to safe operations. “What is needed is a method that enables use of full margins of an RNP procedure based on measured performance to retain efficiency while also addressing noise concerns and manage spacing/timing of aircraft.”

Listed on the patent as the inventors are Charles Otis Adler of Belle- vue, WA, Sheila Ruth Conway of Seattle, and Douglas A. Stoll of Belle- vue.

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

53 173 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 43 December 14, 2018

Toronto Pearson Int’l In This Issue… AIRPORT OUTGROWS SINGLE NOISE ADVISORY COMMITTEE; MOVING TO MULTIPLE FORUMS Toronto Pearson ... Airport In order to better carry out a five-year Noise Management Action Plan for outgrows its single commu- Toronto Pearson International Airport launched earlier this year, the Greater nity noise advisory commit- Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has decided to end its over 20-year-old Com- tee; is moving to multiple munity Environment and Noise Advisory Committee and replace it with several Noise Management Forums new Noise Management Forums. The airport has outgrown a single noise committee, GTAA said. It believes the to improve engagement with new Noise Management Forums will provide a more inclusive way to engage with stakeholders - p. 173 all stakeholder groups while enabling action on its noise mitigation goals. GTAA’s Community Environment and Noise Advisory Committee has been the FAA ... Public outreach for only formal forum for elected officials, community members, and the public to par- South-Central Florida Metro- ticipate in regular discussions with industry partners about airport noise impacts plex project begins early next around Toronto Pearson International. But as the GTAA moves to deliver on it ambitious Noise Management Action Plan, it said that “more forums for more produc- year with public workshops tive, sustainable, and inclusive discussions with stakeholders are necessary.” across project area - p. 173

(Continued on p. 174) Technology ... Scientists at Nanyang Technological Uni- versity in Singapore develop FAA a prototype of a noise cancelling device that can cut FAA BEGINS PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR SOUTH- environmental noise coming CENTRAL FLORIDA METROPLEX PROJECT through open windows by FAA announced Dec. 11 that early next year it will begin involving the public half - p. 175 in development of new flight paths and air traffic control procedures that will be implemented under its South-Central Florida Metroplex project. Litigation ... Citizens group “We will involve the public as we design the new procedures, and conduct the required environmental review,” said Michael O’Harra, Regional Administrator for files lawsuit against San the FAA Southern Region. Diego County challenging “Early next year we will hold public meetings across Central and South Florida. approval of Master Plan up- We encourage the public to attend the workshops to talk with experts, learn how date for McClellan-Palomar proposed changes could affect their communities and provide comments that we Airport that includes runway will consider as we finalize the new procedures.” extension - p. 175 Florida is the only state with four major international air carrier airports: Miami International Airport (KMIA), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), Orlando International Airport (KMCO), and Tampa International Airport Part 150 Program ... FAA (KTPA). The South-Central Florida Metroplex will focus on these airports, where approves noise exposure operations have a direct effect throughout the NAS. The Agency also will propose maps for Westover Airport in Chicopee, MA - p. 176 (Continued on p. 174)

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Toronto, from p. 173 ______External Process Audit: Every two years, a third-party assessment will be commissioned to evaluate the airport’s ac- New Noise Forums tivities and progress towards delivering the Noise Manage- ment Action Plan. Results will be reported publicly. So, in 2019, the GTAA will launch the following Toronto Pearson Noise Management Forums, a series of briefings, ta- In concert with the activities of the new Noise Manage- bles, and working groups that “will help the airport work ment Forums, the GTAA said it will continue to host resident smarter with its communities and collaborate better with in- working groups, workshops, special public meetings and dustry”: other initiatives to inform the development of new policies and programs described by the Noise Management Action Noise Accountability Board: This is an industry com- Plan. mittee made up of senior representatives from the GTAA, More information regarding the Noise Management Fo- NAV CANADA, Transport Canada, airline representatives, as rums will be available at www.torontopearson.com in early well as senior public servants from neighboring municipali- 2019. ties and the province of Ontario. This Board will meet quar- The airport’s Noise Management Action Plan is at terly and will provide technical expertise on noise and growth https://torontopearson.com/noisemanagement/# initiatives, spurring action and collaboration to progress the airport’s Noise Management Action Plan. Materials will be made available publicly following each meeting. FAA, from p. 173______Pearson Public Meetings: This is a series of expanded- format public meetings that will take place three times a year, changes to procedures for Palm Beach International Airport, designed for residents to learn more about airport operations, and various satellite airports. hear about the airport’s noise management efforts, and pro- The FAA said it has not updated many of the air traffic vide feedback to industry partners. These meetings will be procedures for Central and South Florida airports in years. live-streamed and recorded, and the materials will be made While the procedures are safe, they no longer are the most ef- available publicly afterwards. Community groups and elected ficient due to advances in technology. officials are welcome to attend. The South-Central Florida Metroplex will develop more direct and efficient satellite-based routes into and out of Political Briefings: This is a dedicated forum hosted major airports, enhancing safety and flight efficiency. The three times a year, where elected officials from all levels of Metroplex project also will modify some existing procedures government receive Noise Management Action Plan briefings at these airports to ensure that they seamlessly connect to the and represent their constituents’ interests in the noise man- heavily traveled Atlantic Coast Routes between the North- agement conversation with industry partners. Materials will eastern U.S. and Florida. be made available publicly following each meeting. The South-Central Florida Metroplex proposes to replace dozens of existing air traffic procedures with more direct and Neighborhood Table: This is a dedicated table hosted efficient satellite-based routes into and out of major airports, three times a year, where residents’ associations and noise enhancing safety and efficiency. The new satellite-based pro- groups receive Noise Management Action Plan briefings and cedures are a key component of the FAA’s Next Generation participate in the noise management conversation with indus- Air Transportation System (NextGen). Metroplex initiatives try partners. These meetings will provide a better forum to are complete or are underway in 11 metropolitan areas across have more detailed, informed, and responsive discussions the country. than are possible at larger public events. Materials will be The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) made available publicly following each meeting. requires the FAA to identify and publicly disclose any potential environmental impacts of the proposed procedures. The Community Advisory Committees and Reference Pan- Agency plans to begin the environmental review in spring els: These will provide residents with the opportunity to con- 2019. FAA will offer the public the opportunity to comment tribute to the development of airport noise policies for on the proposal during the environmental review. specific elements of the Noise Management Action Plan. As locations, dates and times of the meetings are confirmed, they will posted on the FAA Community Involvement Community Proposal Review Panel: This is a panel of webpage. industry experts that will provide a preliminary review of community-based proposals for noise management. The Community Proposal Review Panel will publicly publish the submissions it receives, as well as its responses, twice per year.

Airport Noise Report 55 December 14, 2018 175

Technology detected noise can reach inside the building,” explained Prof Gan, who teaches at NTU’s School of Electrical & Electronic NOISE CANCELLING DEVISE CUTS Engineering. The research team conducted the tests using a soundproof NOISE THROUGH OPEN WINDOWS chamber at the university’s labs that houses a mock room BY HALF, SINGAPORE UNIV. SAYS with windows and doors, resembling a typical room in a [Following is a recent press release from Nanyang Tech- home. Various recorded sounds from construction sites, jet nological University in Singapore describing a device that engines and trains were used as noise sources during the tests. has the potential to supplement or complement residential They are now developing the technology further by im- sound insulation.] proving its noise cancellation efficiency, making them smaller, and more cost-effective to produce. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Sin- Prof Gan said, “We are currently finding ways to improve gapore) researchers have developed a device that can reduce the technology further so that it can be used not only at win- noise pollution entering buildings even while windows are dow grilles with large openings, but also provide a cost-effec- wide open. tive solution that can be easily installed and replaced. Designed to be mounted onto window grilles, the device Ultimately, we aim to integrate this technology into window could reduce up to 50 percent of noise coming from nearby grilles that can help mitigate urban noise pollution conve- environments such as busy roads, train tracks or from con- niently.” struction activities. The researchers are also working with government agen- The device uses ‘active noise control’ technology - found cies in Singapore to further improve the technology to make in many high-end headphones that cancels external noise - it viable for commercial and residential applications. that is adapted to work in a large open area. The project was jointly developed with the University of The benefits are two-fold: windows can be left open for Southampton in the United Kingdom, and Tottori University fresh air without disturbance from external noise pollution, in Japan. and reducing the need for air-conditioning to keep the interi- It is supported by Singapore’s Ministry of National De- ors of buildings and homes cool. velopment and the National Research Foundation in the Professor Gan Woon Seng, Director for NTU’s Centre for Prime Minister’s Office, under the ‘Land and Liveability Na- Infocomm Technology (INFINITUS), who led the research tional Innovation Challenge’ (L2 NIC) Research Programme. said, “Compared to noise cancellation headphones, what we have achieved is far more technically challenging as we needed to control the noise in a large open area, instead of Litigation just around the ear. This noise cancellation technology is an example of re- GROUP SEEKS TO BLOCK RUNWAY search innovations that NTU is encouraging under its Smart EXTENSION AT PALOMAR AIRPORT Campus initiative, which aims to improve quality of life for society through the development of new sustainable and tech- Citizens for a Friendly Airport – which represents a group nological solutions and by trialling them on its campus first. of Carlsbad, CA, residents – filed a lawsuit against San Diego County on Nov. 29 seeking to overturn the County Board of Using Sound To Remove Noise Supervisors’ approval of the McClellan-Palomar Airport Currently at the prototype stage, the device uses 8 watts Master Plan Update, which was based on the Final Program of power, similar to a small portable Bluetooth speaker. Sev- Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the project ap- eral units are placed together to form a grid-like array on a proved by the County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 10. window grille to reduce external noise. The Master Plan Update approves an up to 800-foot ex- The device uses a special sound emitting mechanism tension of the airport’s only runway, which the citizens group which works like a speaker and is hooked up to a processing fears will increase air traffic, noise, and pollution and consti- unit. Equipped with a microphone, it can detect noise even tutes an expansion of the airport. Their lawsuit alleges that before it reaches the window and computes the attributes of certain actions and approvals related to the project violated the incoming noise in real-time. California environmental and other laws. It quickly emits a countering sound or “anti-noise” that The County asserts that a longer runway is needed to has the same waveform characteristics of the invading noise safely accommodate current and future aircraft and that ex- but with one difference: it is inverted or “flipped”. tension of the runway would not be an expansion of the air- When both outside noise and anti-noise converge, they port because the airport boundaries would not change. cancel each other out, resulting in a softer ambient sound en- “The approved Updated McClellan-Palomar Airport Mas- tering living spaces. ter Plan appears to be nothing more than an attempt by the “Our innovation not only computes the right amount and County of San Diego to turn McClellan-Palomar Airport into type of “anti-noise” to emit, but also does it faster than the a large regional airport to offload capacity from San Diego

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International Airport – an objective that was hidden from the public dur- ANR EDITORIAL ing the entire planning process,” said Hope Nelson, spokesperson for Citi- zens for a Friendly Airport (c4fa). ADVISORY BOARD “In fact, she added in a prepared statement, “comments made by three BOS members at the October 10th meeting clearly demonstrate this inten- tion. Therefore, after great consideration, because of a lack of trans- Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. parency in the planning process and deficient environmental studies, Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP Citizens for a Friendly Airport (c4fa) was forced to file this lawsuit to pro- Denver tect the residents of North San Diego County.” Citizens for a Friendly Airport said that for more than a year it at- Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. tempted to work with the County to clarify the purpose and need for the Consultant proposed airport expansion. Over 1,100 comments were submitted to the Laguna Beach, CA County by the public during the first issue of the draft PEIR. More comments were submitted during the second partial re-issue of the document. Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. Extensive comments also were submitted by c4fa members, according to Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP the plaintiffs. Chicago “Despite these efforts, and with continued lack of transparency, on Oc- tober 10, 2018, the McClellan- Palomar Airport Master Plan and PEIR Gregory S. Walden, Esq. were passed by the County Board of Supervisors. Against their own Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld County Staff recommendations, the BOS voted unanimously 4-0 … to Washington, D.C. pass the largest and most aggressive airport expansion option presented. Citizens for a Friendly Airport opposes the project and challenges the County for its violation of CEQA and other laws. San Diego County has not commented on the lawsuit, which was filed in Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego Central Division.

In Brief…

FAA Approves NEMs for Westover FAA announced Dec. 6 that noise exposure maps for Westover Airport in Chicopee and Ludlow, MA, are in compliance with applicable federal requirements. The agency also said that it is reviewing a proposed Part 150 airport noise compatibility program for the airport, which will be approved or disapproved on or before May 6, 2019. The public has until Jan. 7, 2019, to comment on the proposed program, which can be obtained from Richard Doucette, FAA Airports Divi- sion, 1200 District Ave., Burlington, MA 01803. FAA did not provide his telephone number of email address. Comments on the proposed Part 150 program should be submitted to Mr. Doucette.

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

57 177 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 30, Number 44 December 31, 2018

Noise Guidelines In This Issue… WHO AIRCRAFT NOISE EXPOSURE GUIDELINE WHO Environmental Noise CHALLENGED BY LAUDED NOISE RESEARCHER Guidelines for European A highly-lauded Norwegian noise effects researcher has challenged the dataset Region ... Eminent Norwe- used by the World Health Organization to recommend in its new Environmental gian noise effects researcher Noise Guidelines for the European Region that average noise exposure to aircraft Truls Gjestland challenges noise be kept below 45 dB Lden because aircraft noise above that level is associated with adverse health effects. the dataset used by the World The new WHO guidelines “are based on an arbitrary selection of existing stud- Health Organization for rec- ies comprising an imperfect and faulty set of data not representative for the general ommending that average airport population,” Truls Gjestland, a senior researcher emeritus at the Trondheim, noise exposure to aircraft Norway, firm SINTEF – one of Europe’s largest independent research organiza- noise should not exceed 45 tions – concluded in a paper highlighted in the International Journal of Environ- dB Lden. mental Research and Public Health (Vol. 15, Issue 12, Dec. 2018). Because of his standing as a preeminent authority in the field of community He asserts that some of noise annoyance research, Gjestland’s paper will cast doubt on the adequacy of the the airport annoyance sur- new WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines on aircraft noise exposure. veys included in the dataset on which the recommenda- (Continued on p. 178) tion was based focused on age groups known to be especially sensitive to aircraft Annoyance noise or did not follow stan- TIME TO INTRODUCE NEW IDEAS IN QUEST dard ISO survey protocols, which violated WHO’s strict TO PREDICT ANNOYANCE TO AIRCRAFT NOISE survey selection criteria and [Calling the conventional search over the past half century for a “holy grail” caused misleading conclu- of aircraft annoyance prediction “futile,” Norwegian noise effects expert Truls sions to be made by the Gjestland, senior researcher emeritus at the independent Norwegian research firm SINTEF, points the way forward in a paper presented in August at INTER-NOISE WHO Guideline Develop- 2018 in Chicago entitled “Fifty years of aircraft noise annoyance – time to intro- ment Group - p. 177 duce new ideas.” Following are excerpts from that paper:] Annoyance ... In a paper pre- Transportation noise was first recognized as a major environmental pollutant in sented at INTER-NOISE the 1960s. Many formal attempts have subsequently been made in laboratory and 2018, Gjestland says it’s time field settings to quantify and predict adverse consequences of noise exposure. to introduce new ideas into Many such attempts have involved social surveys conducted with residents of the so far “futile” quest to neighborhoods near noise sources of interest to estimate the prevalence of a conse- quential degree of annoyance (or other adverse effects of noise exposure) within predict aircraft annoyance; groups of respondents with more or less uniform noise exposure. supports Community Toler- Adverse effects of noise that have been investigated have included sleep distur- ance Level, which quantifies non-acoustic factors - p. 177 (Continued on p. 179)

Airport Noise Report 58 December 31, 2018 178

WHO Guidelines, from p. 177______unfortunate that the recommendation is based on a very imperfect and faulty set of data.” Gjestland has more than 50 years’ experience in research on environmental noise issues, in particular community re- WHO Dataset sponse to noise, and people’s reactions to noise. He has been The WHO dataset, on which its recommendation that av- a member of the International Commission on Biological Ef- erage aircraft noise exposure should not exceed 45 dB Lden fects of Noise (ICBEN) since 1983, and has acted as an advi- is based, includes 12 airport noise annoyance studies done sor to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the from 2001 – 2011 that surveyed a total of 17,094 respon- World Health Organization, the European Aviation Safety dents. Agency, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The studies – which were conducted at airports in Am- He has been active in international standardization on as- sterdam, Athens, Berlin (Tegal), Heathrow, Milan sessment of environmental noise and on soundscape topics; (Malpensa), Stockholm, Amsterdam, Zurich, Vietnam (Ho has been president of the Acoustical Society of Norway for Chi Minh, Hanoi, and Da Nang), and Frankfurt – were sub- 10 years; vice-president of the European Acoustics Associa- ject to the following strict selection criteria: tion, and secretary general of the former Federation of • Participants should be members of the general popula- Acoustical Societies of Europe. He also is a fellow of the tion; Acoustical Society of America. • Participants should have at least five years residency near the airport; and Recomendations on Aircraft Noise Exposure • Annoyance questions and response formats should fol- WHO issued its new environmental noise guidelines on low (as closely as possible) recommendations on how to con- Oct. 10 (30 ANR 135). They include the following major rec- duct annoyance surveys provided by ICBEN and/or the ommendations on exposure to aircraft noise that were made International Standards Organization (ISO). by 12 noise effects researchers on the WHO Europe Environ- mental Noise Guideline Development Group (GDG): Selection Criteria Violated • For average noise exposure, the GDG strongly recom- But Gjestland contends that his paper “shows that the se- mends reducing noise levels produced by aircraft below 45 lection of surveys included in the WHO dataset has been dB Lden, as aircraft noise above this level is associated with made in violation of several of the selection criteria specified adverse health effects. by the research group.” Specifically:

• For night noise exposure, the GDG strongly recom- • The respondents in half of the surveys were not repre- mends reducing noise levels produced by aircraft during sentative of the general population. The selection favored night time below 40 dB Lnight, as aircraft noise above this special age groups that are known to be especially sensitive level is associated with adverse effects on sleep. to aircraft noise.

• To reduce health effects, the GDG strongly recommends • Half of the selected studies did not follow the standard that policy-makers implement suitable measures to reduce protocol for annoyance surveys recommended by ISO, but in- noise exposure from aircraft in the population exposed to lev- stead, questions that are likely to yield higher annoyance els above the guideline values for average and night noise ex- scores, were used. posure. For specific interventions the GDG recommends implementing suitable changes in infrastructure. • The required length of residency by the respondents was not met at one airport [Athens]. The recommendation to keep average noise exposures below 45 dB Lden was based only on airport annoyance sur- • Data from two airport surveys [Athens and Milan] have vey data and it is that dataset and its analysis that Gjestland is been included despite the fact that these two datasets were challenging. considered non-representative and rejected for further pooled WHO’s recommendation that aircraft noise exposure analyses by the researchers who conducted these surveys. should be kept below 45 dB Lden “is based on the idealistic assumption that nobody should ever be exposed to noise lev- • Data from one specific airport [Amsterdam] comprises els which endanger complete individual well-being or quality about 40 percent of the total dataset. This gives this specific of life, and, as such, it is useless for general regulatory pur- airport a prominent and disproportionate influence on a selec- poses,” Gjestland asserted in his journal paper, “A Systematic tion that is supposed to be representative for airports world Review of the Basis for WHO’s New Recommendation for wide. Limiting Aircraft Noise Annoyance.” “Nevertheless,” he added, “the recommendation will be • The selected airports comprise 63-80 percent data from observed with great interest by individuals and groups advo- HRC (High Rate Change) airports. Gjestland said there is a cating reduced noise exposure from aviation. It is therefore significant difference between the prevalence of annoyance

Airport Noise Report 59 December 31, 2018 179 observed at so-called “high-rate” change airports (ones where tions (Job, 1988). Some researchers even suggested that noise there has been an abrupt change in the number of aircraft op- exposure itself was among the less important determinants of erations or public discussion of such change within three the prevalence of noise-induced annoyance (McKennell, years of the annoyance survey) as compared to the “low-rate” 1969). Others argued that weak associations of noise expo- change airports. The percentage of HRC airports included in sure with annoyance prevalence rates were due to mis-mea- the WHO dataset is much higher than is observed among air- surement of acoustical influences on annoyance (Schultz, ports in general, he said. 1978). A wide variety of acoustic factors other than cumulative, long-term exposure have been suggested as predictors of Alternative Selection of Surveys annoyance. In his paper, Gjestland analyzed an alternative selection Further analyses (Basner et al. 2017) of surveys on noise of airport annoyance surveys that also were conducted after annoyance have shown that cumulative measures of noise ex- 2000. He determined that these surveys strictly followed the posure per se, expressed in units similar to Day-Night Aver- original strict selection protocol set for the WHO guidelines. age Sound Level (DNL), rarely account for as much as half This alternative analysis of airport annoyance surveys of the variance in community-level data. The prevalence of yielded an average dose-response function which is shifted noise-induced annoyance in communities is clearly moder- almost 5 dB compared to the one presented in the WHO ated by factors other than noise exposure. guidelines, he reported. Acoustic factors that have been identified as moderating “The results indicate that the respondents to these surveys community response to transportation noise include maxi- on average ‘tolerate’ 5 dB higher noise exposure than the mum sound levels, numbers of flights, fleet composition, and WHO selection in order to express the same degree of annoy- their respective distributions over time. All of these factors ance,” Gjestland explained. are highly correlated with cumulative noise exposure. He said the recommendations in the new WHO guidelines Non-acoustic factors include individual noise sensitivity, with respect to aircraft noise annoyance “seem to be based on community economic dependence on airport operation, fear an arbitrary selection of surveys that have not been conducted of crashes, attitudes of malfeasance and misfeasance toward according to internationally standardized methods and that do the noise source, and so forth. In the aviation industry, all not adhere to pre-set selection criteria. In addition, the selec- “non-DNL factors” are commonly referred to as “non- tion is not representative for airports in general. This study acoustic.” shows that a selection of different surveys based on an identi- Individual- (rather than community-) level factors may cal selection protocol, yields very different results. also account for minor additional amounts of variance, but “The datset provided by the WHO Systematic Review are primarily of academic interest, and are of little or no Team should not have been accepted for publication in the value as practical predictors of annoyance prevalence rates WHO report, and thus caused misleading conclusions to be for regulatory and policy analyses. made by the WHO Guideline Development Group.” ANR will contact the members of the WHO Guideline Time to Look for Another Strategy Development Group for comment on Gjestland’s paper later ... After half a century of meager success in predicting this week, after the new year begins. community reaction to transportation noise, it is time for a new approach. The first step in developing a more sophisti- cated understanding of community response to transportation Annoyance, from p. 177 noise is to formally acknowledge that responses to questions of the form “How annoyed are you by aircraft noise?” are bance, interference with conversation, listening to radio or controlled not only by noise exposure, but also by a variety of television, and annoyance (McKennell, 1973) (Alexandre, non-acoustic (or more specifically, “non-DNL”) factors. 1973). Most field studies of annoyance have assumed that a As Basner et al. have noted (2017), noise exposure alone measure of noise exposure can, by itself, account for useful accounts for only about a third of the variance of individual amounts of variance in social survey data on the prevalence responses. Since the aggregate influence of these non- of noise-induced annoyance in communities. acoustic factors varies from one airport community to the Even in the earliest field studies, observed associations next, it may be futile to seek a single function that accurately between noise exposure and individual subjective responses describes the relationship between noise exposure and preva- have been weak. When self-reports of adverse reactions to lence of annoyance in all airport communities. noise have been pooled across respondents with similar noise exposure, however, the correlation between the noise and the Conclusion mean responses are typically greater. … Efforts have been made for more than half a century to establish a single, general dose-response curve that usefully Non-Acoustice Factors describes the relationship between the average noise level, … Non-acoustic factors were soon recognized as playing DNL, and the prevalence of people highly annoyed by air- an important role in determining individual annoyance reac- craft noise. Planners and decision makers rely on such curves

Airport Noise Report 60 December 31, 2018 180

to describe the impact of noise on people and communities. ANR EDITORIAL The examples shown in this paper indicate that this search is futile. Community response to aircraft noise exposure is determined not only by ADVISORY BOARD the noise level itself, but also a variety of non-acoustic factors. These factors can vary considerably from one community to the next. Similar responses, i.e. percentage highly annoyed, can be found in communities Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. with a noise exposure difference of 20 dB or more. Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP Several dose-response curves have been proposed, and some of them Denver are being used by official authorities. However, their fit to the existing pool of annoyance survey results is rather poor. Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. Fidell et al. (2011) have proposed an alternative approach. Instead of Consultant looking for a one-curve-fits-all solution, they point to the fact that the an- Laguna Beach, CA noyance caused by aircraft noise is, to a large extent, determined by a number of non-acoustical factors. The noise level itself explains only Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. about one third of the variance of the individual responses. Fidell et al. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP have shown that the annoyance response in a community can be success- Chicago fully modeled by a Community Tolerance Level, which is a quantification of the influence of all non-acoustical factors. This is a single value param- Gregory S. Walden, Esq. eter given by the community’s annoyance decision criterion. So far, this Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld criterion can only be found through direct survey methods. Washington, D.C. However, further analyses of existing survey data may prove a way of dividing airports in different categories that may be characterized by separate “average CTL values” and corresponding dose-response curves. As shown in this paper the rate of change of airport operations is an important parameter. Likewise, the number of aircraft movements regardless of noise level seems to be of importance. The effect of other main characteristics should be further explored.

Community Tolerance Level [U.S. psychoacoustician Sanford Fidell of Fidell & Associates in Woodland Hills, CA, and colleagues developed the Community Tolerance Level, which is defined as the day-night sound level at which 50 percent of the people in a particular community are predicted to be highly annoyed by noise exposure. The CTL method is explained in international standard ISO 1996-1 (ISO, 2016).]

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

61 1 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 31, Number 1 January 18, 2019

O’Hare Int’l In This Issue… FAA SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON DRAFT EIS FOR NIGHTTIME RUNWAY ROTATION PLAN O’Hare Int’l ... FAA seeks The public has until midnight on Feb. 27 to submit comments on FAA’s Draft comment on Draft EIS for Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed interim nighttime runway rota- proposed Interim Fly Quiet tion plan for O’Hare International Airport. Runway Rotation Plan devel- Formally called the “Written Re-Evaluation of the O’Hare Modernization Envi- oped by O’Hare Noise Com- ronmental Impact Statement for the Interim Fly Quiet Runway Rotation Plan,” the patibility Commission - p. 1 plan is designed to more equitably distribute the noise impact of nighttime aircraft operations. Since September 2015, the Fly Quiet Committee of the O’Hare Noise Compati- ... Judge dismisses lawsuit bility Commission (ONCC) has worked with the Chicago Department of Aviation, filed by dozens of residents airlines, and the FAA to evaluate ways to improve the existing Fly Quiet Program near O’Hare alleging that at O’Hare to reduce noise concerns, many of which arose or increased after FAA noise from new runway revised the O’Hare airspace and changed the runway configuration to an east-west caused a taking of their prop- alignment. erty - p. 1 Airports and community groups around the country are watching the ONCC’s (Continued on p. 2) Heathrow ... Airport opens consultation asking local communities to help shape Litigation the airport’s plans for its future airspace, both with two JUDGE RULES NOISE TAKINGS LAWSUIT existing runways and with OVER NEW O’HARE RUNWAY FILED TOO LATE proposed new runway - p. 2 In December, a Cook County, IL, judge dismissed an aircraft noise case filed by dozens of homeowners in Bensenville, IL – near O’Hare International Airport – on Aircraft Design ... Boeing the ground that it was filed too late. unveils latest version of The plaintiffs live near a new O’Hare runway (Runway 10C-28C) that opened Transonic Truss-Braced on Oct. 17, 2013, and directed heavy aircraft over their homes, allegedly depriving them of the enjoyment of their property, legally called a taking or avigation ease- Wing, which will allow air- ment. craft to fly higher and faster The plaintiffs initially filed their case on Oct. 1, 2015, which was two years than earlier designs - p. 3 after the runway opened and beyond the one-year statute of limitations provided in state law for filing such litigation. Quiet SST ... Collins Aero- On Feb. 24, 2017, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint alleging that air space will provide avionics, traffic from the runway significantly increased between late 2014 and 2015 creating a new cause of action, which they asserted extended the statute of limitations enhanced vision system for past the date the runway opened and went into operation. NASA’s X-59 Quiet Super- Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas R. Mulroy rejected both arguments. sonic Technology (QueSST) “Weeks after this Runway opened, Plaintiffs new or should have known the na- demonstrator aircraft - p. 4 (Continued on p. 3)

Airport Noise Report 62 January 18, 2019 2

O’Hare, from p. 1 ______closed for construction to extend it. If continued, a new nighttime runway rotation plan would have to be developed to effort in hopes they are successful and can be duplicated in consider the extended runway’s noise impact. other locations. At issue is the problem of how to get some communities to accept more noise so that other communities can be given respite from it. Letting communities know on Heathrow Airport which days they will be exposed to aircraft noise and on which days they will not, will provide them with some sense of control over the noise source, which is an important factor HEATHROW ASKS COMMUNITIES in reducing annoyance. TO HELP SHAPE FUTURE AIRSPACE FAA has supported the development of the new proposed On Jan. 8, London Heathrow Airport launched an Air- nighttime runway rotation plan. space and Future Operations consultation through which it is “The ONCC oversaw three Fly Quiet Runway Rotation asking local communities to help shape the airport’s plans for Plan tests to collect data on proposed runway configurations its future airspace – both for the existing two runways and as that could provide near-term relief to the highest impacted part of the proposed new runway. communities surrounding O’Hare,” FAA explains on its web- This is the latest milestone for Heathrow expansion fol- site. lowing the landmark Parliamentary vote last summer allow- In December 2017, the ONCC recommended that Test 3 ing the project to move forward. be submitted to the FAA for a Proposed Interim Fly Quiet By a margin of four-to-one, a majority of Members of Runway Rotation Plan. The CDA submitted the request to the Parliament voted to approve the UK Airports National Policy FAA in February 2018. Statement, which provides support for Heathrow expansion. The launch of this stage of the consultation keeps Heathrow Noise Impact of Proposed Plan on schedule to deliver expansion, which Heathrow officials A discussion of the noise impact of the Proposed Interim said is part of the key trading infrastructure Britain will need Runway Rotation Plan begins on page 1-18 of the Draft EIS, to succeed post-Brexit. which is available at http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_de- velopment/omp/ifq_re_eval/ Key Topics “In general,” the Draft EIS explains, “the Proposed In- The eight- week Airspace & Future Operations consulta- terim Fly Quiet would cause a net increase in the area cov- tion is set to run from Jan. 8 to March 4. It seeks feedback on ered by the 65 DNL contour. While some area would several key topics: experience an increase in acreage, others would experience a • Airspace change for an expanded Heathrow: the local decrease due to the changes in nighttime runway use.” factors Heathrow should consider in different geographic The proposed runway rotation plan: areas when designing future flight paths. • Would include 973 newly exposed housing units within • Airspace change to make better use of the two existing the area of the 65 DN contour and 392 housing units would runways: the local factors Heathrow should consider in dif- be newly excluded from the area of the 65 DN contour; ferent geographic areas when designing new flight paths for • Would expose 138 people in 69 housing units across some aircraft arrivals on its existing two runways. nearly 18 acres to a significant noise increase, and would ex- • Future operations for an expanded Heathrow: how pose 3,253 people in 1,094 housing areas across nearly 166 Heathrow will operate its three runways in the future – this acres to a reportable noise increase; and includes managing noise, respite through runway and air- • Would also expose nine people in three housing units space alternation, directional preference, and night flights. across nearly 35 acres to a significant noise decrease, and Over 30 public consultation events will be held across would expose no one to a reportable noise increase. local London area boroughs throughout the consultation period, where members of the public will be able to ask ques- Public Workshops Scheduled tions and provide their feedback. The FAA also will host public workshops in four commu- A full list of dates, times and locations can be found at: nities in the Chicago area on the Draft Written Re-Evaluation http://afo.heathrowconsultation.com of the O’Hare Modernization Environmental Impact State- The consultation documents and feedback forms are ment (Draft Re-Evaluation) for the Interim Fly Quiet Runway available online for the entire duration of the consultation pe- Rotation Plan for Chicago O’Hare International Airport. riod, as well as at a number of document inspection locations The workshops will be held on Feb. 4 in Elk Grove Vil- may also be submitted via post. lage, IL; on Feb. 5 in Niles, IL; on Feb. 6 in River Grove, IL; This major public consultation follows Heathrow’s first and on Feb. 7 in Elmhurst IL. consultation on expansion, which was held from January to FAA said it is important to note that, if approved, the Pro- March 2018. Heathrow will hold a further consultation in posed Interim Fly Quiet Runway Rotation Plan would be ap- June on its emerging plans for expansion including the new proved only through January 2021when Runway 9R/27L is runway and associated physical infrastructure, as well as pre-

Airport Noise Report 63 January 18, 2019 3 senting options to mitigate and manage the effects of the air- Litigation, from p. 1 ______port’s growth. “Delivering expansion responsibly is a key priority for ture and extent of the noise impact from the flights,” Judge Heathrow and the process of open and transparent public con- Mulroy wrote in his order granting motions by the City of sultation is crucial to building the right plan for the future air- Chicago for Summary Judgment against the plaintiffs. port,” airport officials said in announcing the new “When the City built, opened and began to use the Run- consultation. way Plaintiffs were put on notice that overflights and noise Heathrow said it is holding a multi-stage consultation would continue into the future. In fact, Plaintiffs in their dep- process “to ensure that stakeholders have the best opportunity ositions admitted they were painfully aware of the noise and to be involved throughout the process. This approach to con- disruption immediately after the Runway opened … Thus, sultation will help shape Heathrow’s future plans, and ensure there is no factual dispute that Plaintiffs knew or should have it creates a legacy of jobs, growth and trade for a truly global known as of October 2013 of the events which gave rise to Britain while delivering on its commitments to local commu- their Complaints. nities.” Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow’s Executive Director for Ex- Assertion of Second Taking Rejected pansion, urged local people to participate in the consultation. “However, they argue that a second taking occurred be- “Heathrow’s aim is to design a sustainable, fair, and more cause, they allege, the air traffic and noise increased a year efficient future airport while connecting the UK to global after the Runway opened. Thus, they argue the statue of limi- growth. It is crucial that our plans maximize the benefits of tations began to run anew in 2014.” expansion across the country, including for the communities “To extend the one-year statue of limitations or to begin closest to us – and working in partnership with our neighburs the running of a new statute of limitations, Plaintiffs must is just one way of ensuring they do so. We are committed to show that the impact on their property from the Runway sub- delivering expansion responsibly, and we encourage everyone stantially increased after October 2014, thus creating anew to have their say and take part,” Gilthorpe said. taking,” the judge explained in his Order. “In addition, Plaintiffs must prove that the interference with the use and enjoyment of their property increased and Aircraft that the new activities resulted in an additional diminution of the value of Plaintiffs’ property,” the judge added. BOEING UNVEILS LATEST LIGHT, But the judge held that undisputed data filed by the City ULTRA-THIN WING CONCEPT of Chicago “demonstrates that the most significant change in overflight of Plaintiffs’ property occurred on Oct. 17, 2013, On Jan. 8, Boeing unveiled the latest version of a light- when the Runway opened. The pattern established then and weight, ultra-thin and more aerodynamic wing concept know in the following months shows that there were no fundamen- as the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW), which re- tal changes in use of the Runway from that date thorough the searchers say will fly higher and faster than previous TTBW first two years of operations.” concepts. The judge also noted that an analysis of noise levels in the The new configuration is designed to offer unprecedented Plaintiffs’ neighborhood done by a consultant for the City of aerodynamic efficiency while flying at Mach 0.80. Chicago showed that the noise level increased by 5 dB DNL The strikingly long, thin wing is supported by a dramatic between Oct. 17, 2013, when the Runway was opened, and angled brace that rises from the bottom of the aircraft. Sept. 30, 2014. However, during the three years after Octo- From end-to-end, the folding wings measure 170 feet. ber 2014, the average noise exposure over the Plaintiffs’ The high wingspan is made possible by the presence of a property did not increase significantly. truss, which supports the extended length of the ultra-thin “Plaintiffs use certain selective data to argue that over- wing. flights increased and were different from another particular Originally, the TTBW was designed to fly at speeds of time, and that that difference constitutes a new taking. The Mach 0.70 – 0.75. To increase the aircraft’s cruise speed, the Court, however, cannot look to a limited specific time and ig- new concept now has an optimized truss and a modified wing nore previous months when considering whether the air traf- sweep. By adjusting the wing sweep angle, the truss can carry fic has significantly increased in order to create a new lift more efficiently. The end result was a more integrated de- taking,” Judge Mulroy explained. sign that significantly improved vehicle performance. He found that the plaintiffs had failed to establish that a The new changes follow extensive wind tunnel testing at second, increased incremental taking of an avigation ease- NASA Ames Research Center. For nearly a decade, Boeing ment occurred subsequent to Oct. 1, 2014, which would ex- and NASA have been studying the concept as part of the Sub- tend the statute of limitations. sonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) program. The The plaintiffs also asserted in their lawsuit that, even if research focuses on innovative concepts that reduce noise and the statute of limitations does not apply, the City of Chicago’s emissions while enhancing performance. representatives “made repeated public promises and represen-

Airport Noise Report 64 January 18, 2019 4

tations to Plaintiffs that the City was working on various initiatives to alle- ANR EDITORIAL viate the impact of the Runway upon the residents.” This was done, they argued, in order to mislead Plaintiffs and to delay them from filing their ADVISORY BOARD lawsuit. But the judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to support that argument in the way the law requires. “The various statements and announcements Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. made by representatives of the City, its Aviation Department, and commit- Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP tees were not ‘affirmative acts’ by the City that are binding and which Denver would support equitable estoppel [the legal defense the plaintiffs were as- serting] … Furthermore, even if the statements were affirmative acts, it Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. was not reasonable for Plaintiffs to rely on the statements in delaying the Consultant filing of this action,” Judge Mulroy wrote. Laguna Beach, CA The case, Jack Riser, et al. v. City of Chicago (No. 15 L9955) was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, IL, County Department, Law Divi- Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. sion. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP The plaintiffs were represented by Chicago attorney Leonard Meyer Chicago and colleagues. The City of Chicago was represented by Eric Pilsk of the law firm Kaplan Kirsch and Rockwell and by Diane Pezanoski of the City Mary L. Vigilante of Chicago Department of Law. President, Synergy Consultants Seattle SSTs Gregory S. Walden, Esq. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld COLLINS WILL PROVIDE AVIONICS Washington, D.C. FOR NASA’S QUIET SST DEMONSTRATOR Lockheed Martin has selected Collins Aerospace, a business unit of United Technologies Corp., to provide avionics for NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) demonstrator aircraft, which is expected to take its first flight in 2021. The X-59 is being developed by Lockheed Martin for NASA to collect data that could make supersonic commercial travel over land possible through low sonic boom technology. Collins also will provide a “dual multi-spectral enhanced vision system (EVS-3600)” that will enable pilots to land in nearly all conditions using advanced visual sensors leveraging long wave, infrared technology. In order to achieve supersonic speeds with a low sonic boom signature, the X-59 must have a long and slender shape which makes a forward-looking window impractical. The X-59 is designed to create a sound about as loud as a car door closing, instead of a sonic boom. It will be used to collect data on the ac- ceptability of the quiet sonic boom generated by the aircraft, helping NASA establish an acceptable commercial supersonic noise standard to overturn current regulations banning supersonic travel over land.

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

65 5 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 31, Number 2 January 25, 2019

Gov’t Shutdown In This Issue… SHUTDOWN AFFECTING PROJECTS, WORKING GROUPS, NOISE PROVISIONS IN FAA REAUTH. Gov’t Shutdown ... Asked Invited to comment on the impact of the ongoing partial federal government how the partial federal gov- shutdown on aircraft noise mitigation efforts, ANR subscribers said it is leaving ernment shutdown is affect- key FAA officials unavailable to approve airport projects, to participate on noise ing them, ANR subscribers working groups and other forums, and perhaps even to conduct upcoming sched- say it is leaving key federal uled community noise workshops on a proposed Fly Quiet nighttime runway rota- officials unavailable to ap- tion program for O’Hare International Airport and on airspace changes planned for prove airport projects and to the South-Central Florida Metroplex project. The shutdown also will likely delay FAA’s implementation of many of the 20 participate on airport noise noise provisions that were included in legislation reauthorizing FAA’s programs, roundtables and other forums which are intended to force FAA to upate its decades old aircraft noise policy and and will delay FAA’s imple- to address concentrated NextGen flight path noise. mentation of the 20 aircraft No airports receiving noise mitiation funding through FAA’s Airport Improve- noise provisions in the 2018 ment Program or involved in FAA’s Part 150 Airport Noise Compatibility Program FAA reauthorization bill. The commented on how or whether the partial government shutdown will affect them. ripple effects of the shut- (Continued on p. 6) down will go on for many months, one warns - p. 5

Litigation Litigation ... The State of Maryland asks a federal ap- STATE OF MARYLAND ASKS APPEALS COURT peals court not to dismiss its NOT TO DISMISS ITS CASE OVER FLIGHT PATHS case challenging flight path The State of Maryland asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to changes into Reagan Na- deny the FAA’s motion to dismiss its challenge of flight path changes into Ronald tional Airport that moved Reagan National Airport that shifted aircraft noise from Virginia to Maryland. noise from Virginia to Mary- In its Jan. 16 opening brief in the case, State of Maryland v. FAA (No. 18-1173), land; argues that “reasonable attorneys for the State urged the Court to hold that the FAA’s amendments to the Runway 19 approach paths are arbitrary and capricious and to require the FAA to grounds” exist for having conduct a “proper” environmental analysis of the flight path changes. filed its lawsuit beyond the One of the main points at issue in the case is whether “reasonable grounds” 60-day window - p. 5 exist for the State to have missed the 60-day filing deadline for its litigation. In its brief, the State of Maryland compared the facts in its case to those in the City of Heathrow ... London Assem- Phoenix’s challenge of RNAV departure procedures at Sky Harbor International bly report calls for halt in air Airport. The Court ruled in August 2017 that reasonable grounds existed in the Phoenix traffic growth, ban on night- case for filing beyond the 60-day deadline because the FAA had made public state- time operations at Heathrow ments that created a reasonable expectation that the agency “might fix the noise and London City airports to problem without being forced to so by a court” (29 ANR 111). reduce noise impact - p. 7 (Continued on p. 7)

Airport Noise Report 66 January 25, 2019 6

Shutdown, from p. 5 ______quential than how many new flights to Hawaii are needed from three competing airports (within 35 miles of each other) But one official at an airport not participating in the 150 pro- such as SFO, OAK and SJC; or how to let drones freely buzz gram said the shutdown is not affecting their noise mitigation at night. When government re-opens FAA needs to sharpen efforts. focus on dealing with this very real problem.” But while the shutdown may not be having much of an immediate impact on airport noise mitigation projects, attor- Jennifer Landesmann ney Peter Kirsch warns that the ripple effects of the shutdown Sky Posse Palo Alto, CA will likely continue through late 2019. The shutdown effects also might ripple through the fed- A summary of the noise provisions included in the 2018 eral court system, forcing changes in briefing schedules and FAA reauthorization bill and the timeline for implementing court dates due to lack of court funds or availability of De- them are in the Sept. 28, 2018, issue of ANR (Vol. 30, No. partment of Justice attorneys to work on cases. 32). Following are ANR subscriber comments on the impact The noise provisions force FAA, under a relatively tight of the partial federal government shutdown: timeline, to conduct the studies and produce the data needed to develop policies and procedures to deal with concentrated Impacting Project Schedules NextGen noise impact, to determne whether FAA needs to “So far funding for our noise work has not been affected find an alternative to its controversial DNL noise metric, to by the government shutdown, but the schedules of some of update its Part 150 land use compatibility guidelines and its our noise and environmental projects have been impacted due outdated noise policy, and to phase out Stage 3 aircraft that to the unavailability of key government staff to provide cannot meet Stage 4 noise standards. timely reviews and approvals. The noise provisions in the FAA reauthorization legisla- “For example, while the folks in the ADOs are funded tion also require FAA to conduct a study in at least eight met- and working, their counterparts in FAA’s Legal Division, ropolitan areas to determine whether living under concen- FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy, and the Advisory trated NextGen flight paths affects people’s health and to Council on Historic Preservation are furloughed. issue a proposed rule defining landing and takeoff noise re- “Delays in getting the required environmental approvals quirements for civil supersonic aircraft by March 2,1 2020. delay the start of these projects, which then impacts the con- The government shutdown will likely delay all this criti- struction schedules, airlines, air cargo operators, and traveling cal work, much of which was to have been completed within public. An article in the Everett Herald regarding the initia- six months to a year. tion of air service at Paine Field illustrates this point.” FAA Not Participating on Working Group Steven R. Alverson “Due to the shutdown, FAA is not attending the DCA Senior Vice President noise working group meetings, or working on projects that ESA | Environmental Science Associates have been in the works for several years.”

Alaska Airlines told the Everett, WA, Herald Business Michael Jeck Journal that it will delay the start of commercial passenger Airport Noise Office service at Paine Field “by at least three weeks” due to the par- Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority tial federal government shutdown. Alaska Airlines had planned to begin service on Feb. 11 The technical and policy expertise that FAA staff provides but has delayed it until March 4. in working with airports, airlines, and community representa- “Alaska and United Airlines plan a combined 24 daily tives on aircraft noise roundtables, working groups, and other flights at a new passenger terminal at the airport, but they are noise and NextGen forums is essential to their success. awaiting Federal Aviation Administration approval. The officials who must sign off on a final environmental assessment Ripple Effects Will Go On for Months are on furlough,” the article explained. “While the FAA Airports Division has been only mini- mally affected by the shutdown, other FAA functions have Will Delay FAA Reauth. Noise Provisions been seriously affected. Seemingly routine matters such as “The government shutdown delays actions needed to de- securing a part 77 [on safe, efficient use and preservation of liver on the noise provisions in the 2018 FAA Reauthoriza- the navigable airspace] (Form 7460) review, obtaining FSDO tion bill (H.R. 302). Any slowdown is concerning in the [Flight Standards District Offices] approvals and certifica- already long five-six years of FAA not confronting the delete- tions, and, more generally, receiving informal guidance and rious effects of NextGen on communities around the country. opinions from the FAA have all been delayed. Costs to people and municipalities dealing with this environ- “Even more importantly, the shutdown will have effects mental disaster are rising and multiplying, and is more conse- for months and months after the government reopens – the

Airport Noise Report 67 January 25, 2019 7

FAA will not be able to reopen and just return to normal be- evaluate the potential impacts to historic resources, parks, or cause it will face backlogs from the shutdown. It is anyone’s recreational areas,” the State of Maryland told the Court. guess how long it will take FAA functions to return to normal Although the FAA asserts that it applied a categorical ex- but it is likely to be months and months. clusion to avoid environmental review under the National En- “Exacerbating these disruptions, the FAA Reauthorization vironmental Policy Act, the record contains no evidence that Act of 2018 mandated that the FAA issue dozens of reports, the FAA reached such a determination at the time it amended studies, regulations, orders and guidance. There are likely to the flight paths, Maryland said. be months-long delays in implementing key provisions of the “Nor is there any evidence that the FAA considered the new statute. impacts of its actions or undertook any consultation on his- “The focus of much of the media has of course been on toric resources, parks, or recreation areas protected by the the impacts of the shutdown on federal employees – which National Historic Preservation Act, and Section 4(f) of the has been serious, and in some cases, life disrupting. But the Department of Transportation Act. The FAA violated NEPA, ripple effects will be even broader – for airports who cannot the NHPA, and Section 4(f) through its complete failure to secure timely approvals, for airlines who do not receive nec- perform the necessary environmental analyses.” essary certifications, for communities whose programs will The State of Maryland told the Court that it only became be delayed, and for other stakeholders who will see expected apprarent in April 2018, long after the arrival procedures agency actions delayed. It could easily be late 2019 before were changed and when FAA sent two letters to the State, the effects on non-federal entities are resolved. “that the FAA had not been fully transparent with the public and that it might no longer cooperate with Maryland and Peter J. Kirsch other local officials to further change the flight paths to ad- Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP dress Maryland’s noise concerns. “The first letter admitted that, contrary to its previous statements made in response to repeated public and elected- Litigation, from p. 5 ______official requests, the FAA had produced no environmental documentation before amending the flight paths. The second The State of Maryland acknowledged that it filed its peti- letter signaled that the FAA would invoke the statute of limi- tion well after 60 days from the FAA’s first use of the proce- tations should Maryland file suit. Maryland reasonably filed dures, but argued that the FAA “drove the timing of this suit within 60 days of those two communications,” the State lawsuit by creating an expectation that changes to the new explained. procedures were being evaluated.” Maryland asked the Court to “deny the FAA’s motion to “On the same day that the FAA first informed the Wash- dismiss, hold that the FAA’s amendments to the Runway 19 ington Reagan National Airport Community Working Group approach paths are arbitrary and capricious, vacate those de- that it had revised the approach paths and explained what it cisions, and remand to the FAA for a proper analysis.” had done, the FAA also publicly stated that it would consider The FAA and Department of Justice reply brief is due on development on an alternative procedure. On numerous sub- Feb. 15 but the partial government shutdown could delay its sequent occasions, the FAA reassured the Working Group submission. that it would further collaborate on revisions to the flight paths,” Maryland argued. “Those public statements created a reasonable expecta- UK tion that the FAA ‘might fix the noise problem without being forced to do so by a court’ – the criteria the Court used in the LONDON ASSEMBLY REPORT Phoenix case to conclude that “reasonable grounds” existed CALLS FOR HALT IN AIR TRAFFIC for the City of Phoenix to have missed the filing deadline, the State of Maryland asserted. GROWTH AT HEATHROW One of the attorneys representing the State of Maryland is A new report, entitled Aircraft Noise, published Jan. 23 John Putnam of Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, who won the by the London Assembly Environment Committee, says noise Phoenix case, and is guiding the State of Maryland’s case. nuisance levels are unacceptable and calls for a halt on all air traffic growth at Heathrow and London City airports. No Public Notice of Flightpath Changes The London Assembly represents Londoners in City Hall. In 2015, the FAA made the series of amendments to ar- The Assembly scrutinizes and monitors the Mayor. They ex- rival flight paths for Runway 19 at Ronald Reagan Washing- amine the Mayor’s actions to determine whether or not they ton National Airport that shifted flights out of northern suit the public interest. Along with the Mayor, the London Virginia and concentrated aircraft noise over resources and Assembly is responsible for policing, transport, housing, communities in Maryland. planning and the environment. “Before making those changes, the FAA provided no pub- Heathrow has recently announced plans for 25,000 extra lic notice of its plan, performed no noise analysis, and did not flights a year, bringing new areas of London under its flight

Airport Noise Report 68 January 25, 2019 8

paths. Meanwhile, London City Airport, in the middle of its own signifi- ANR EDITORIAL cant expansion, saw record passenger numbers in 2018. “But as the appetite for air travel grows, so does the misery for those ADVISORY BOARD who have no choice but to live with a debilitating noise invasion,” the As- sembly Environment Committee said. The Committee said its report “builds on evidence given by residents Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. who told the Committee of a dawn chorus of disruption that continued Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP well after their children’s bedtime.” Denver The report details the impact of altitude, flight paths and out-of-hours flights on the noise landscape. Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. Consultant No Night Flights Laguna Beach, CA Among the report’s recommendations are: • The Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise should use Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. lower thresholds for disturbance, allowing residents to leave their win- Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP dows open when they need to. Chicago • Air traffic at Heathrow and London City should not increase and Heathrow’s third runway should not go ahead. Mary L. Vigilante • Air traffic controllers should minimize continuous stacking and max- President, Synergy Consultants imize descent and ascent to keep aircraft further from the ground for Seattle longer. They should also minimize overlap between City and Heathrow flight paths. Gregory S. Walden, Esq. • There should be no night flights, and restrictions on early morning Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld flights should be strengthened. All London airports should provide pre- Washington, D.C. dictable periods of respite. “The experiences of residents living with the daily nightmare of over- head noise are deeply worrying,” said Caroline Russell, chair of the Lon- don Assembly’s Environment Committee. “There are significant health impacts that follow from an inability to sleep, relax and concentrate. “This drive towards filling airspace capacity must be checked. For too many people, including children, aircraft noise is a major dominant intru- sion into their everyday lives. It is not an acceptable price to pay for air travel. It isn’t right and must be challenged. “We have already made clear our objection to the expansion of Heathrow but aviation authorities and operators must prioritize the health and well-being of Londoners and give us a break.” The London Assembly report can be downloaded at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/aircraft-noise-report.pdf

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

69 9 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 31, Number 3 February 1, 2019

SSTs In This Issue… UNCONSTRAINED COMMERCIAL SST FLEET WOULD PRODUCE UP TO 150-200 BOOMS A DAY SSTs ... A fleet of commer- A unconstrained commercial supersonic aircraft network of 2,000 aircraft oper- cial SST aircraft like the one ating in 2035 would produce 150-200 sonic booms a day in heavily impacted areas, Boom Technology is devel- a new paper by The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) predicts. oping would produce 150- However, the noise model used by the ICCT assumes an SST reference aircraft 200 sonic booms a day in that only meets Stage 3 aircraft noise certification standards and does not employ heavily impacted areas, an low-boom technology that NASA is developing. The reference SST was developed ICCT report warns - p. 9 from publicly available data on Boom Technology’s “Overture” 55-seat commercial SST, which is currently under development and is assumed to be delivered at a rate of 200 per year starting in 2025. UAM ... Honeywell, Pipistrel Such a fleet of SSTs could double the area around airports exposed to substan- sign MOU to explore urban tial noise pollution compared to existing subsonic aircraft of the same size, the air mobility; Boeing’s au- ICCT report estimated. tonomous passenger vehicle It also predicted that substantial parts of the world would experience disruptive makes first test flight - p. 9 sonic booms from such SST aircraft. Canada, Germany, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Roma- (Continued on p. 10) SFO ... Airport launches high school educational curriculum called Sound Waves UAM to engage next generation of aviation professionals - p. 10 HONEYWELL, PIPISTREL AGREE TO EXPLORE UAM; BOEING’S PAV MAKES FIRST TEST FLIGHT Conferences ... Two keynote Honeywell and the Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel have signed a addresses will highlight pro- memorandum of understanding that will bring both companies together to explore gram for 2019 UC Davis and develop solutions for the urban air mobility market. Aviation Noise and Emis- The companies will integrate Honeywell avionics, navigation, flight control sions Symposium - p. 11 systems, connectivity and other beneficial products and services onto a future Pip- istrel Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) air vehicle to support fully autonomous operations in the future. News Briefs ... FAA an- Urban air mobility is an aviation industry term for on-demand and automated nounces its approval of noise passenger or cargo-carrying air transportation services, typically flown without a exposure maps for Atlanta pilot. Urban air mobility services will bring innovative new ways for people to Hartsfield-Jackson Int’l Air- travel around cities and rural areas, while reducing congestion. port; FAA announces avail- “This is the beginning of a long-term relationship to collectively pursue the fu- ability of EIS for proposed ture of urban air mobility,” said Ivo Boscarol, founder and president of Pipistrel. “Honeywell’s expertise in integrated avionics and flight control systems, sys- interim nighttime runway ro- tems integration, certification, and manufacturing, combined with our capabilities tation plan for Chicago in designing and developing advanced light aircraft, makes us the perfect pairing to O’Hare Int’l - p. 11 (Continued on p. 12)

Airport Noise Report 70 February 1, 2019 10

SSTs, from p. 9 ______The ICCT model is based on a sonic boom intensity on the order of 95 PLdB (Perceived Level of noise), which nia, Turkey, and parts of the United States would experience would be perceived as “two explosive, low-frequency impul- frequent sonic booms; the most heavily impacted regions sive sounds akin to artillery fire or an explosion.” could be exposed to between 150 and 200 sonic booms per The ICCT did not model the significantly lower 75 PLdB day, or up to one boom every five minutes over a hypothetical sonic boom noise level – which would be equivalent to the 16-hour day. volume of a car door slamming – that NASA hopes to The two airports expected to have the most commercial achieve with its Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) SST operations in 2035, Dubai and London Heathrow, could demonstrator aircraft currently under development by Lock- each see more than 300 operations per day, the ICCT said. heed-Martin. Other airports – including Los Angeles, Singapore, San Fran- The ICCT report explained that the 95 PLdB sonic boom cisco, New York-JFK, Frankfurt, and Bangkok – could each intensity it used in its modeling was based on: see 100 or more daily commercial SST flights, the ICCT esti- • Boom’s claim that its 55-seat “Overture” commercial mated from modeled data. SST flying at Mach 2.2 will produce a sonic boom intensity about 15 dB below that of Concorde, which peaked at 109 ICAO Meeting Begins PLdB, and on; The ICCT paper was issued on Jan. 30, just two days be- • Boeing’s estimates that the sonic boom of a smaller con- fore the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Commit- figuration (765-076E) aircraft, which would carry 30 passen- tee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) began gers at Mach 1.6 to 1.8, would be between 91 and 100 PLdB. meeting in Montreal from Feb. 1-12 to discuss progress to- SSTs capable of the low boom that NASA seeks will not ward developing noise certification standards for a new gen- be deployed for near-term SST designs, the ICCT said. Fur- eration of supersonic aircraft. ther “preliminary design work completed for NASA by Boe- ICAO is initiating work on SST standards for landing and ing suggest a fuel burn penalty on the order of 10% for a 5dB takeoff noise (LTO), air pollution, sonic boom, and cruise reduction in perceived boom ... This indicates a tradeoff be- CO2. A full set of standards may be finalized by 2025 and tween en route noise and fuel burn that may limit the uptake take effect before 2030, the ICCT noted. of low-boom technologies unless mandated,” the report ex- The ICCT paper paints a dire picture of the noise impact plains in a footnote. a fleet of commercial SSTs that do not meet more stringent In a fleet of SSTs without low-boom technology, signifi- noise standards and low-boom standards would have. cant sonic boom exposure would be felt in North America, “Regulators are faced with two choices: either to develop the ICCT warned. new SST standards that would allow those aircraft to produce “Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in Canada, and coastal more noise, air pollution, and climate pollution than new sub- Maine in the United States, would experience the largest im- sonic designs, or to apply existing subsonic standards to pacts. In the Mountain West and Great Plains, parts of Ari- SSTs,” the ICCT asserted. zona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Utah plus Western Alaska “Aspiring SST manufacturers could boost public accept- would experience sonic booms about every six to 10 minutes ance for their designs by committing to meet existing LTO (100 to 150 times daily), while much of the Midwest, Ore- noise and cruise CO2 standards for subsonic aircraft and by gon, and western Alaska would experience a sonic boom at supporting new en route noise standards that would mandate roughly 20-minute intervals (50 times per day). Other states, low-boom technology. Lacking these commitments, manufac- including California, Florida, and Hawaii, would experience turers may find it difficult to access additional capital to final- little or no sonic boom, although exposure to LTO noise at ize their aircraft designs: to date, Boom has raised about $141 their airports could be significant.” million, or about 2% of the $6 billion it estimates will be The report, “Noise and climate impacts of an uncon- needed to fully develop its aircraft,” the ICCT said. strained commercial supersonic network,” can be down- The ICCT said its modeling of the impact an uncon- loaded at the ICCT website (www.theicct.org). strained network of new commercial SSTs would have on the environment “highlights the need for robust environmental standards to manage the expected noise and CO2 impacts or San Francisco Int’l reintroducing commercial SSTs. Did Not Model Low-Boom SST CURRICULUM ENGAGES HIGH The ICCT paper modeled the landing and takeoff (LTO) SCHOOL STUDENTS ON NOISE noise, sonic boom, and carbon dioxide emissions from a fleet On Jan. 29, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) an- of 2,000 commercial SSTs expected to operate approximately nounced the launch of a brand new high school education 5,000 flights per day in 2035 at 160 airports located predomi- curriculum called Sound Waves – an innovative study of how nantly in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia, and sound carries in and around the airport – to help engage the Oceana. next generation of aviation professionals.

Airport Noise Report 71 February 1, 2019 11

“SFO has created a unique, hands-on learning curriculum the University of Maryland on the trade-off between optimiz- that leads students to explore the science of sound waves, ing flight patterns and human health; how sound travels and its impact on human beings,” said Air- • Emily Tranter of the National Organization to Insure a port Director Ivar C. Satero. Sound-controlled Enviroment (N.O.I.S.E.) on legislative up- “These lessons give young people a chance to explore the dates; science, technology, and engineering behind how airports op- • Joe DiPardo of the Noise Division of FAA’s Office of erate, and provides insightful opportunities for future careers Environment and Energy, on an Aviation Environmental De- at SFO.” sign Tool (AEDT) update; The education materials were created by and for teachers, • Jim Hileman of FAA’s Office of Environment and En- and meet the requirements of the California Department of ergy on FAA’s CLEEN program; Education Content Standards NGSS HS PS 4.1. Over the • George Bye of Bye Aerospace on electric aircraft taking course of five days, the lesson sequence includes: flight sooner than you think; • Inquiry-based Introduction to Waves • Diane Jackson of Naples Airport on how it demonstrates • Sound Scavenger Hunt its commitment to being a good neighbor; • Sound and Mediums Investigation General aviation noise issues and noise issues on the hori- • Sound and Particles Demonstrations zon also will be addressed at the symposium. • Unique On-Site Summative Experience - How SFO’s At a Community Workshop set for Sunday, March 3, rep- Noise Abatement Office decodes sounds around the airport resentatives of community anti-noise groups from around the The program concludes with a special tour at SFO that country will discuss the practices and procedures they want to features internship and airport career opportunities. see the FAA and the aviation community adopt in engaging If interested in the program, visit Sound Waves: A High with communities on NextGen airspace changes. They will School Education Curriculum and complete the form. Once present to the symposium for consideration those areas of submitted, the airport will provide slides with instructions community engagement they all can agree on. and customizable worksheets for students, coordinate mate- For further information on the symposium, go to rial pick-up and schedule a tour. https://anesymposium.aqrc.ucdavis.edu

Conferences In Brief…

HIGHLIGHTS OF PROGRAM FOR Atlanta Noise Maps UC DAVIS NOISE, EM. SYMPOSIUM On Jan. 31, the FAA announced its determination that the Two keynote addresses will highlight the 2019 UC Davis Noise Exposure Maps submitted by the City of Atlanta De- Aviation Noise and Emissions Symposium, which will be partment of Aviation for Hartsfield-Jackson International Air- held on March 3-5 in Jacksonville, FL. port under FAA Part 150 Airport Noise Compatibility Ian Jopson of the UK’s National Air Traffic Services, will Program are in compliance with applicable federal require- describe how NATS works with communities in the UK on ments. NextGen airspace changes and how it differs from what is For further information, contact Felicia Reeves in FAA done in the U.S. Atlanta Airports District Office; tel: (404) 305-6708. Todd Linder of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority’s Cecil Air & Spaceport, will discuss a new kind of noise im- EIS for Proposed O’Hare Interim Fly Quiet pact: horizontal launch operations by reusable launch vehi- On Jan. 31, FAA announced the availability of the “Draft cles. Re-Evaluation of the O’Hare Modernization Environmental Among the aircraft noise-related presentations at the sym- Impact Statement for the Proposed Interim Fly Quiet.” posium will be discussions by: This is an environmental impact statement the agency • Dr. John Housman of MIT on research being done on prepared for a proposed interim nighttime runway rotation aircraft dispersion at Boston Logan International Airport and plan for O’Hare developed by the O’Hare Noise Compatibil- other concepts to reduce noise impact on communities; ity Commission in conjunction with the FAA. • Kevin Welsh of FAA’s Office of Environment and En- The public has until midnight on Feb. 27 to submit com- ergy on FAA efforts to understand and address aviation noise ments on FAA’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for challenges; the proposed interim nighttime runway rotation plan for • Mike McKee of Denver International Airport on the re- O’Hare International Airport (31 ANR 1). The Draft Re-Eval- sults of using PBN procedures at DEN; uation is available online at: • Blake Cushnie and Jonathan Bagg of NAV CANADA http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport- on how their agency uses PBN for noise mitigation; _development/omp/ifq_re_eval/ • Brian Will of Queens Quiet Skies and Zafar Zafari of

Airport Noise Report 72 February 1, 2019 12 ANR EDITORIAL UAM, from p. 9 ______advance the urban air mobility market. ADVISORY BOARD “Pipistrel was chosen to be one of Uber’s vehicle development partners for its urban mobility solution, and our VTOL air vehicle features next-generation propulsion technology for achieving embedded lift. We Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. have the concept that unlocks a cost-attractive electric VTOL opportunity Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP by addressing efficiency and noise hurdles in vehicle lift, hover and cruise Denver stages of flight.” Honeywell and Pipistrel will be using Honeywell’s vast experience in Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. avionics and flight controls along with Pipistrel’s knowledge of aircraft Consultant design to support the initial phases of a demonstration program in early Laguna Beach, CA 2019. A schedule announcing flight demonstrations for the vehicle proto- types will be released later in the year. Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP Boeing PAV Prototype Makes First Test Flight Chicago In related news, Boeing said Jan. 23 that it successfully completed the first test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype in Mary L. Vigilante Manassas, VA. President, Synergy Consultants Boeing NeXt, which leads the company’s urban air mobility efforts, Seattle utilized Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to design and develop the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and will con- Gregory S. Walden, Esq. tinue testing to advance the safety and reliability of on-demand au- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld tonomous air transportation. Washington, D.C. The PAV prototype completed a controlled takeoff, hover and landing during the flight, which tested the vehicle’s autonomous functions and ground control systems. Future flights will test forward, wing-borne flight, as well as the transition phase between vertical and forward-flight modes. This transition phase is typically the most significant engineering challenge for any high-speed VTOL aircraft. “In one year, we have progressed from a conceptual design to a flying prototype,” said Boeing Chief Technology Officer Greg Hysop. “Boeing’s expertise and innovation have been critical in developing aviation as the world’s safest and most efficient form of transportation, and we will continue to lead with a safe, innovative, and responsible approach to new mobility solutions.” Powered by an electric propulsion system, the PAV prototype is designed for fully autonomous flight from takeoff to landing, with a range of up to 50 miles. Measuring 30 feet long and 28 feet wide, its advanced air- frame integrates the propulsion and wing systems to achieve efficient hover and forward flight. “This is what revolution looks like, and it’s because of autonomy,” said John Langford, president and CEO of Aurora. “Certifiable autonomy is going to make quiet, clean, and safe urban mobility possible.”

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

73 13 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 31, Number 4 February 8, 2019

Legislation In This Issue… BILL WOULD REQUIRE CONSENSUS REPORT ON HEALTH EFFECTS OF FLYING OVER HOMES Legislation ... House bill On Feb. 5, Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Congres- would require expert consen- sional Quiet Skies Caucus for the 116th Congress, introduced the Air Traffic Noise sus report by National Acad- and Pollution Expert Consensus Act (H.R. 976), which would require the FAA to emies of Science on health sponsor an Expert Consensus Report issued by the National Academies of Sci- effects of airplanes flying ences, Engineering and Medicine on the health effects of airplanes flying over resi- over residential areas - p. 13 dential areas. Expert Consensus Reports produced by the National Academies examine scientific and technological issues of national importance. SSTs ... Boeing invests in Rep. Lynch said his legislation, which has 18 co-sponsors, would make avail- Aerion to accelerate develop- able the best scientific information on the health impacts of air traffic noise and ment of supersonic aircraft, pollution by requiring the FAA to sponsor an Expert Consensus Report from the beginning with supersonic Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. business jet - p. 13 Under the bill, the National Academies would be required to convene a committee of health and environmental science experts within 30 days. The committee would examine the health impacts of air traffic noise and pollution and issue the Congress ... Rep. Rick (Continued on p. 14) Larsen (D-WA) is elected Chairman of the House Avia- tion Subcommittee; will SSTs monitor FAA’s progress implementing noise provisions BOEING INVESTS IN AERION TO ACCELERATE in 2018 FAA Reauthorization DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT Act - p. 14 On Feb. 5, Boeing announced a partnership with Aerion, a Reno, Nev.-based company pioneering next-generation supersonic aircraft, beginning with a super- Aircraft ... Pratt & Whitney, sonic business jet. Airbus, Delta celebrate entry As part of the agreement, Boeing made what it called a “significant investment” in Aerion to accelerate technology development and aircraft design, and unlock su- into service of the airline’s personic air travel for new markets. However, the terms of the deal were not dis- A220 aircraft powered by closed. quieter GTF engines - p. 15 Boeing said it will provide engineering, manufacturing, and flight test resources, as well as strategic vertical content, to bring Aerion’s AS2 supersonic busi- Urban Air Mobility ... AIA ness jet to market. The AS2 is designed to fly at speeds up to Mach 1.4 or President tells House T&I approximately 1,000 miles per hour. With the ability to fly up to 70 percent faster than today’s business jets, the AS2 will save approximately three hours on a Committee at hearing on in- transatlantic flight while meeting “environmental performance requirements,” Boe- frastructure that aviation in- ing said. dustry is on the verge of a The AS2 is slated for first flight in 2023. revolution in the way people “Boeing is leading a mobility transformation that will safely and efficiently and goods are moved - p. 16 (Continued on p. 15)

Airport Noise Report 74 February 8, 2019 14

Legislation, from p. 13 ______House T&I Committee Expert Consensus Report with their findings. The report would be submitted to the FAA Administrator, the Secretary LARSEN ELECTED TO CHAIR of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the En- HOUSE AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE vironmental Protection Agency, and relevant Congressional Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) was elected by his colleagues Committees, including the House Committee on Transporta- as Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure tion and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Over- Committee’s Aviation Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction sight and Government Reform. over all aspects of civil aviation and oversees the FAA. ‘Imperative’ to Understand Health Effects As a result of the mid-term elections, the Democrats now control the U.S. House of Representatives, which means that “There is a clear demand from our constituents that we all House committees are now under Democratic leadership. look into the impacts of flight paths across the country,” “With the passage of the Federal Aviation Administration said Rep. Lynch. “It is imperative that we understand and Reauthorization Act of 2018, the Aviation Subcommittee will remedy any health effects caused by aircraft flying over resi- focus on overseeing the implementation of the bill and have dential areas, and the burden is on the FAA to produce this in- an opportunity to explore new issues. With safety as our guid- formation.” ing principle, I would like to explore what is possible and on Lynch noted that federal and regional transportation au- the horizon in aviation and what is needed to ensure the thorities have received an increased number of complaints United States keeps innovating and remains globally compet- around airplane noise as new flight paths have been imple- itive,” Larsen said in a Jan. 24 statement. mented as part of the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transporta- “As Aviation Subcommittee Chair, I am committed to tion System. strengthening aviation safety by responding to safety inci- NextGen shifted flight paths in and out of airports, caus- dents and regulatory gaps in the FAA’s oversight of the U.S. ing increased airplane activity over certain residential areas, aviation industry; investing in the future of aviation through Lynch explained. He said that in Massachusetts alone, the fostering technological innovation to advance the safe and ef- Massachusetts Port Authority (MASSPORT) received over ficient integration of new users; improving U.S. competitive- 71,000 complaints about aviation-related noise from across ness through robust federal investment in aviation and airport 83 communities, including Hull, Hingham, Milton, and infrastructure, supporting U.S. manufacturers and increasing Boston, in 2018, which increased the number of complaints and developing our aviation workforce; and enhancing con- received in 2017 by almost 20%, and almost doubled the sumer protections for passengers,” said Larsen. amount of complaints received in 2016. “I look forward to working with Rep. Garret Graves (R- Congressman Lynch sits on the Aviation Subcommittee of LA) who will serve as Ranking Member [of the Aviation Sub- the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. committee], and the Members of the Subcommittee.” Co-sponsors of the bill include: Congressional Quiet Rep. Larsen did not mention aircraft noise in his state- Skies Caucus Co-Chair Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), ment so ANR asked if he planned on addressing any aircraft Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus Vice-Chairs Thomas noise issues, particularly the noise produced by concentrated Suozzi (D-NY) and Mike Quigley (D-IL), Quiet Skies Cau- NextGen flight paths which is causing widespread noise com- cus members Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL),Ted Lieu (D-CA), plaints in communities around the country. ANR also asked Anna Eshoo (D-CA,) Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Adam Smith whether the new Aviation Subcommittee chairman will moni- (D- WA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Alan tor FAA’s progress in implementing the 20 noise provisions Lowenthal (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), included in the 2018 FAA Reauthoization Act. Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Karen In a statement to ANR, Rep. Larsen said: Bass (D-CA), and Kathleen Rice (D-NY), and Julia Brown- "One of the areas the Subcommittee will focus on is fos- ley (D-CA), who is not listed as a caucus member tering innovation in U.S. aviation and aerospace through the advancement of NextGen. The FAA reauthorization bill Reauthorization Requires Health Study makes progress toward the development and implementation FAA reauthorization legislation signed into law last year of state-of-the-art NextGen technologies in U.S. airspace. requires the FAA to enter into into an agreement with an eli- With timely input from various stakeholders and communi- gible institution of higher education to conduct a study on the ties, U.S. companies will be able to tailor aviation products incremental health impacts attributable to noise exposure that and services to better address pressing local challenges, such results from aircraft flights, including sleep disturbance, and as noise. elevated blood pressure. “The Aviation Subcommittee will conduct oversight of That study will focus on residents in metropolitan areas of the 20 noise provisions in the FAA reauthorization bill and Boston, Chicago, District of Columbia, New York, the North- work with industry, the administration and aviation stake- ern and Southern California Metroplex areas, Phoenix, Seat- holders on implementation to ensure the United States re- tle, and other areas as may be identified by the FAA. mains the gold standard in flight."

Airport Noise Report 75 February 8, 2019 15

Although the new Aviation Subcommittee Chairman is SSTs, from p. 13 ______not a member of the House Quiet Skies Caucus, his tenure on the Aviation Subcommittee has schooled him on the aircraft connect the world faster than ever before,” said Steve Nord- noise issue and he is actively seeking to mitigate the impact lund, vice president and general manager of Boeing NeXt. of Navy EA-18G Growler operations at Naval Air Station “This is a strategic and disciplined leading-edge investment Whidbey Island, WA, on his constituents. in further maturing supersonic technology. Through this part- Senate Aviation Subcommittee nership that combines Aerion’s supersonic expertise and Boe- ing’s global industrial scale and commercial aviation Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will chair the Senate Commerce experience, we have the right team to build the future of sus- Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation and Space and Sen. tainable supersonic flight.” Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will serve as the Subcommittee’s Founded in 2003 to develop new, more efficient aerody- Ranking Member. namic technologies for supersonic aircraft, Aerion introduced Democrat Sinema replaces Republican Sen. Jeff Flake (R- its AS2 12-passenger business jet design in 2014. The com- AZ), who decided not to run for reelection. pany unveiled the AS2’s GE Affinity engine design in 2018. GE describes its Affinity engine as “a twin-shaft, twin-fan turbofan controlled by a next generation Full Authority Digi- Aircraft tal Engine Control (FADEC) for enhanced dispatch reliability and onboard diagnostics. It is purposefully designed to enable P&W GTF ENGINES POWER efficient supersonic flight over water and efficient subsonic flight over land, without requiring modifications to existing INAUGURAL DELTA A220 FIGHTS compliance regulations. The engine is designed to meet strin- Pratt & Whitney, Airbus, and Delta Air Lines celebrated gent Stage 5 subsonic noise requirements and beat current the entry into service of the airline's A220 aircraft powered emissions standards.” by Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines on Feb. 7. “The AS2 is designed to fly efficiently overland at Mach The occasion, which makes Delta the first A220 operator 0.95, just below the speed of sound and below the point at in North America, was commemorated with a gate celebra- which a boom is created,” Jeff Miller, Aerion’s Vice President tion at LaGuardia Airport in New York. for Marketing and Communications, told ANR. The A220, exclusively powered by the GTF engine, offers double-digit improvement in operating costs compared to “Boomless Cruise’ current generation aircraft. It is 20% more fuel efficient and “Under certain conditions,” Miller added, “it may fly up provides a 75% reduction in noise footprint and NOx emis- to Mach 1.2 in a mode we term Boomless Cruise. In this op- sions 50% below the ICAO CAEP 6 regulation, according to erating mode, we are assessing atmospheric conditions and P&W. adjusting speed so that a weak boom will always refract off In April 2016, Delta announced its order of 75 firm A220 of warmer layers of the atmosphere and not reach the ground. aircraft with options for up to 50 additional aircraft powered We intend to demonstrate this capability during FAA certifi- by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. In January, Delta added 15 cation testing.” firm aircraft, increasing its total firm order to 90 A220 air- Asked how Boomless Cruise works, Miller explained craft. that it is “unique technology being developed by Aerion. On- Delta also announced selection of the GTF engine to board avionics will collect atmospheric data and calculate power its order of 100 firm A321neo aircraft in December maximum speed so as not to boom the ground. Because the 2017 with options for up to 100 additional aircraft. Addition- speed of sound is a function of temperature and is higher at ally, Delta TechOps joined Pratt & Whitney's growing MRO the ground than at, say, 50,000 feet, at relatively low super- network, which supports the GTF engine fleet and Pratt & sonic speeds the boom will essentially dissipate or refract off Whitney customers worldwide. of warmer layers of the atmosphere. "Delta has been a pioneer in the aviation industry for “This phenomenon occurs because of the physics of the decades and today we celebrate another milestone with the atmosphere, not because of specific aerodynamic design of Delta team as their new A220 aircraft enters service," said the aircraft. That is why Boomless Cruise is achievable at Rick Deurloo, senior vice president of sales, marketing and only low supersonic speeds. However, it does require some customer support at Pratt & Whitney. unique avionics development. We expect to begin flight test- "Delta's GTF-powered A220 joins more than 330 other ing the system in 2024.” Pratt & Whitney powered aircraft already in service with The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 requires FAA to re- Delta. Pratt & Whitney and Delta have built a strong and assess, at two-year intervals beginning in 2020, whether the trusted relationship over the years and we are confident that existing ban on supersonic overland flights in the United Delta will enjoy the GTF engine's proven economic and envi- States can be lifted and replaced by an en-route (sonic boom) ronmental benefits on the A220 aircraft." noise standard.

Airport Noise Report 76 February 8, 2019 16 ANR EDITORIAL UAM ADVISORY BOARD AIA FOCUSES ON URBAN AIR MOBILITY AT T&I HEARING ON INFRASTRUCTURE The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee held its first Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. hearing under Democratic control on Feb. 7 and it focused on “why in- Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP vesting in our nation’s infrastructure cannot wait.” Denver Eric Fanning, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Associa- tion focused his testimony or Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a concept that Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. “will change the way people connect with each other and travel through Consultant on-demand passenger transportation services,” he told the Committee. Laguna Beach, CA “The aviation industry is on the verge of a technological innovation that will revolutionize the way we move goods and people,” Fanning as- Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. serted in written testimony. “Much like Henry Ford did with the Model T Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP and the Wright Brothers did with the first flight, UAM technologies will Chicago change people’s lives – and our world – for the better. “And UAM is just part of this new world,” he added. “I’ve already Mary L. Vigilante mentioned the role Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and drones will President, Synergy Consultants play, but there are so many other new innovations with their own impact, Seattle from the supersonic planes that will be managed by new and improved air traffic systems to the commercial space flights that will make us rethink Gregory S. Walden, Esq. airports around the world – and beyond. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld “This vision is not theoretical; it will happen. But in order for America Washington, D.C. to be the leader that gets there, we must recommit to our partnership between industry and government, including of course, the U.S. Congress. Fanning told the House Transportation Committee that there must be collaboration between all levels of government for UAM to succeed. “Industry will continue to work with the federal government to set the standards and rules that will govern operations. However, local governments and their partners also have a key role to play in that process. Cities and states will need to update their infrastructure to allow for takeoffs and landings of the aircraft. Building, parking garages, and other surfaces could be repurposed to allow for UAM operations, but only with the active involvement of local governments. “Before there is widescale operational use of UAM, cities will also need to work with industry and focus on developing emergency landing sites and other safety procedures. To take advantage of these emerging technologies, we ask states, cities, and counties to begin these analyses in their local areas. While widespread UAM flight may be a few years away, cities and states must begin preparing for them now. “Because the future of American infrastructure is coming – and sooner than you think ...”

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher

77 17 Airport Noise Report

A weekly update on litigation, regulations, and technological developments Volume 31, Number 5 February 15, 2019

UAM In This Issue… SAFETY, NOISE ARE TOP CONCERNS OF PUBLIC ABOUT UAM VEHICLES, AIRBUS SURVEY FINDS Urban Air Mobility ... Safety Safety and noise are the top concerns of the public about Urban Air Mobility and noise are top public con- (UAM) vehicles, such as air taxis and package delivery drones, according to a sur- cerns about air taxis, package vey conducted by a division of Airbus’ Urban Mobility Unit. delivery drone, Airbus sur- The study surveyed 1,540 people from Los Angeles, Mexico City, Switzerland, vey finds - p. 17 and New Zealand to determine their perceptions on safety, noise, inequity, visual pollution, and privacy in relation to UAM deployment. ... Fraport, Volocopter part- According to the study, nearly one in two people surveyed are in favor of UAM deployment. In fact, 44% indicate they support, or strongly support, the initiative, ner on bringing air taxi serv- Airbus reported. ice to airports - p. 18 The findings also reveal that 41% of participants perceive these aerial vehicles to be safe or very safe. Moreover, safety (55%) ranks as participants’ leading con- Gov’t Shutdown ... 35-day cern for UAM implementation in their communities, followed by sound types shutdown impacted NextGen (49%) and sound volume (48%) generated by the aerial vehicle. implementation, A4A official “Communities need to be educated on UAM to facilitate public acceptance,” tells Congress - p. 17 (Continued on p. 18) Electric Aircraft ... Airbus announces world’s first elec- Gov’t Shutdown tric aircraft race to advance development of electric air- SHUTDOWN JEOPARDIZED NEXTGEN AIRSPACE craft engines - p. 18 IMPROVEMENTS IN NE CORRIDOR, A4A SAYS The recent 35-day federal government shutdown has impacted FAA’s NextGen ... Bye two-seat electric Sun air traffic modernization efforts and jeopardized airspace improvements in the Flyer flight trainer success- Northeast Corridor (the congested airspace between Boston and Washington, DC) fully completes first flight that are central to the goals of the NextGen Advisory Committee, Airlines for America President and CEO Nicholas Calio told the House Aviation Subcommittee with Siemens motor - p. 19 at a Feb. 13 hearing. “Because [NextGen] is both a planning and implementation initiative, the shut- ... DLR research will focus down has impacted near-term improvements and longer-term implementations on electric aircraft, un- being supported by the [aviation] industry, essentially halting the development and manned aircraft, and digitali- operational testing of technologies for NextGen,” Calio told the Subcommittee in zation in 2019 - p. 19 written testimony. Regarding airspace improvements in the Northeast Corridor, Calio said, “We face the potential of the FAA not being able to deliver on commitments of more ef- ... NASA keeps all-electric fective and efficient metering of aircraft at Newark and LaGuardia Airports.” X-Plane motors cool by He said there is now doubt about promised anticipated improvements in adding nacelles around NextGen procedures, and questions about pending improvements to high altitude motor electronics - p. 20 (Continued on p. 19)

Airport Noise Report 78 February 15, 2019 18

UAM, from p. 17 ______airport poses a huge challenge for the world’s major cities. Together with Fraport AG, we are excited to pioneer the im- Airbus UTM Head of Airspace Management Isabel Del Pozo plementation of an air taxi service at one of Europe’s most De Poza said. “From our perspective, the study findings are important airports. very positive and demonstrate there’s growing support.” “We will be tapping into Fraport’s wealth of experience to The study also analyzed perceptions by demographics, integrate the Volocopter Service safely and efficiently into the such as the age groups and geographic areas that are most complex array of processes required at a major international likely to be accepting of UAM in the future. Specifically, par- airport.” ticipants living in Mexico City (67%) and Los Angeles (46%) Volocopter said it has already demonstrated that its elec- indicated they are likely or very likely to use UAM. Further- trically-powered vertical take-off multicopters meet the re- more, the 25-34 age group had the most positive initial reac- quirements of Urban Aerial Mobility in various test flights, tion (55% positive), compared to the 75-84 age group (15% most notably in Dubai. positive). Based on drone technology, the Volocopter air taxi offers “Our aim is to bring the public’s voice to the table to cre- space for two people “and is a suitable urban transport solu- ate an ecosystem that better prepares cities and city dwellers tion thanks to its quiet and zero-emissions flying,” the com- for autonomous and electric aerial vehicles in a way that pany said. takes into account their desires, hopes and fears,” Airbus On its website, Volocopter said people “will be as- UTM Head of Deployment Jessie Mooberry said. tounded” by how quiet its electric air taxi is. To produce the study, Airbus UTM said its team rigor- “Because all 18 rotors acoustically operate within a nar- ously reviewed academic literature and conducted expert in- row frequency ban, they appear to the human ear to be only terviews with city officials, aircraft manufacturers, twice as loud as one single rotor. In contrast, a helicopter is academics, and policymakers. numerous times louder with its main and tail rotors as well as For future studies, Airbus UTM will continue to work its turbine. For comparison: A Volocopter 2X [is two-seat air with communities around the world to study this new tech- taxi] within 75 meters distance is as quiet as the smallest heli- nology’s potential. copter within 500 meters distance, that is a factor of 7!” Read the complete study here: airbusutm.com.

Electric Aircraft Air Taxis AIRBUS ANNOUNCES WORLD’S FRAPORT DEVELOPING CONCEPTS FIRST ELECTRIC AIRPLANE RACE FOR AIRPORT AIR TAXI SERVICES On Feb. 5, Airbus announced Air Race E, the world’s first The German companies Fraport AG and Volocopter electric airplane race, which is set to launch its inaugural se- GmbH said Feb. 12 that they have joined forces to develop ries in 2020. concepts for ground infrastructure and operations required to Airbus is the Official Founding Partner of Air Race E. bring air taxi services to airports, beginning with Frankfurt The competition aims to drive the development and adoption Airport. of cleaner, faster, and more technologically advanced electric They are focusing on the development of so-called Volo- engines that can be applied to urban air mobility vehicles and, copter Ports, which will enable smooth passenger handling eventually, commercial aircraft. and efficient integration of electric air taxis into existing Air Race E will follow a format similar to the popular Air transport infrastructure. Race 1 series of the sport known as formula one air racing. In the future, they said, Volocopter Ports could link exist- Eight electric-powered airplanes will race directly against ing urban transportation junctions with one another and pro- each other on a tight 5-km circuit, just 10 meters above the vide connections to and from Frankfurt Airport (FRA), which ground, and at speeds faster than any land-based motorsport. Fraport manages. “We want to motivate manufacturers to showcase their “Autonomous flying will fundamentally change aviation technologies across the full spectrum of electric propulsion in the years to come,” Anke Giesen, Fraport AG’s executive systems and components,” said Grazia Vittadini, Chief Tech- board member for operations (COO), explained. nology Officer of Airbus. “This partnership enables us to “We want to be the first airport in Europe to harness the demonstrate our commitment to staying at the leading edge of potential of electric air taxis in partnership with pioneer Volo- electric propulsion and developing a new ecosystem.” copter – for the benefit of our passengers and the Frank- Air Race E CEO Jeff Zaltman said, “We couldn’t be hap- furt/Rhine-Main region. This partnership underscores Fraport pier or more optimistic for success with Airbus as our Official AG’s role as a key driver of innovation in diverse fields.” Founding Partner. This partnership is a significant milestone Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH, added: “Pro- in the evolution of electric power in aviation. Together, we’re viding the ideal connection between the city center and the working to create a mainstream platform in which innovation

Airport Noise Report 79 February 15, 2019 19 in electric propulsion can be developed, nurtured, and accel- Shutdown, from p. 17 erated more rapidly.” Airbus will work alongside other Air Race E partners, in- routes, because of delays in EnRoute DataComm that are cluding the University of Nottingham. The University is cur- driven by operational band width of FAA facilities. rently developing a prototype race airplane powered by an At its June 27, 2018, meeting, NAC Chair and FedEx integrated electric motor, battery, and power electronics sys- President David Bronczek said that reducing aircraft delay in tem. The plane will help shape the model and rules for the in- the busy Northeast Corridor is his main goal for the NAC this augural Air Race E race in 2020. year. Bronczek and FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell also urged airline officials to take a more active role in FAA community engagement efforts, which they believe are cru- Electric Aircraft cial to successfully implementing PBN procedures in the Northeast Corridor (30 ANR 81). BYE TRAINER COMPLETES FLIGHT Legislation Would Protect FAA TEST WITH SIEMENS MOTOR While the Aviation Subcommittee’s hearing focused on Bye Aerospace’s electric Sun Flyer 2 successfully com- the impact of the shutdown on the aviation system, it also pleted its first official flight test with a Siemens electric provided an opportunity for the aviation industry to voice its propulsion motor Feb. 8 at Centennial Airport, south of Den- strong support for legislation to protect FAA programs and ver, CO. personnel – and the U.S. aviation industry as a whole – from The Sun Flyer family of aircraft, including the 2-seat Sun future shutdowns of the federal government. Flyer 2 and the 4-seat Sun Flyer 4, aims to be the first FAA- Calio said the aviation industry supports the “Aviation certified, practical, all-electric airplanes to serve the flight Funding Stability Act of 2019,” introduced on Feb. 8, which training and general aviation markets. Siemens will provide was sponsored by House Transportation & Infrastructure electric propulsion systems for the Sun Flyer 2 airplane. Committee Chairman Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair- The all-electric Sun Flyer requires no aviation fuel and re- man of the House Subcommittee on Aviation Rep. Rick sults in zero emissions and “significantly lower noise pollu- Larsen (D-WA). tion compared to conventional aircraft,” Bye said. Their legislation would do two things: George E. Bye, CEO of Bye Aerospace, the developer of • Authorize the FAA to continue to draw from its Airport the Sun Flyer, said the initial flight with the Siemens motor and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) during a lapse, with no Gen- went flawlessly. “The airplane performed exactly as eral Fund contributions. The AATF generates enough revenue planned,” he said. “My thanks to the entire Siemens team for from the domestic passenger ticket tax, commercial fuel tax, their participation as we enter this next, important flight test general aviation gasoline tax, and cargo tax, among other phase of Sun Flyer 2 with the Siemens electric propulsion sources, to sustain all of the agency’s programs without a system.” General Fund contribution; and Sun Flyer 2’s program application to the FAA was ac- • Allow the entire agency to operate at current funding cepted under FAR 23 certification criteria in the spring of levels, with no Congressional action required. This ensures 2018. The Sun Flyer 2 prototype will conduct extensive addi- that all FAA programs function uninterrupted and that all tional flight test activities in 2019 and continue to work FAA employees are paid for their important work. closely with FAA representatives on certification activities. Current flight test focus areas are propulsion system, envelope expansion, and systems optimization. Germany “This successful test flight is a proud moment for the Siemens and Bye Aerospace teams and marks a milestone in DLR TO FOCUS ON ELECTRIC, bringing the age of electric flight to life,” said Dr. Frank Anton, Executive Vice President and Head of eAircraft, UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN 2019 Siemens. “The Siemens electric propulsion system offers a Electric aircraft, unmanned aircraft, and digitalization are clean, cost-efficient and silent propulsion alternative to the the three areas of aviation research the German Aerospace flight training market without compromising performance or Center (Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft-und Raumfahrt; DLR) safety.” plans to pursue in 2019, the aerospace agency explained at its annual press conference in Berlin, held on Feb. 14. This year, DLR aviation researchers said they will continue to develop concepts for new propulsion technologies with the goal of making future air transport quieter and emission-free. Electric propulsion systems have the potential to reduce noise, be energy efficient, and climate neutral, all at once, they stressed.

Airport Noise Report 80 February 15, 2019 20

DLR aeronautics and energy researchers flight-tested the first four ANR EDITORIAL passenger, fuel cell-powered aircraft – HY4 – back in 2016. Test flights of the next evolutionary stage of this aircraft are planned for 2019. In addi- ADVISORY BOARD tion to various energy sources and propulsion technologies, scientists are also working on new operating models and aircraft configurations, such as distributed propulsion systems. Peter J. Kirsch, Esq. Whether they are used for urban freight transport, disaster relief or fu- Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell LLP ture passenger transport in the form of air taxis, Unmanned Aircraft Sys- Denver tems (UASs) are on the threshold of taking on a major economic role in the civil aviation sector, the DLR noted. Vincent E. Mestre, P.E. The agency said it is working towards the establishment of a national Consultant test center for unmanned aerial vehicles – the first in Europe – in order to Laguna Beach, CA advance the development of new technologies for safe flight, precise positioning, and stable data connections to ground stations. Steven F. Pflaum, Esq. DLR aeronautics research also is taking the next steps towards the dig- Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP italization of aviation. Virtual products – highly accurate and true-to-life Chicago representations of aircraft over their entire lifecycle – will make both the development and the maintenance of aviation systems more efficient and Mary L. Vigilante thus more cost-effective in the future, DLR explained. President, Synergy Consultants Seattle NASA Gregory S. Walden, Esq. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld NASA KEEPS ALL-ELECTRIC X-PLANE Washington, D.C. MOTORS COOL BY ADDING NACELLES NASA is preparing to explore electric-powered flight with its X-57 Maxwell, a unique all-electric aircraft that features 14 propellers along its wing. Those very small, yet highly efficient motors will produce a tremen- dous amount of power, but with power comes heat, and too much heat can cause issues for an aircraft. Adding a cooling system to the X-57’s sleek design would add bulk and require design changes that could negatively impact the aircraft’s performance, NASA explained in a Feb. 12 news release. “To deal with the heat problem, engineers at NASA’ Glenn Research Center devised a custom-designed ‘skin’, or nacelle, around the aircraft’s motor electronics to significantly cool them without changing the aircraft’s shape or design. “This new cooling nacelle design ... was proven during a recent wind tunnel test where engineers subjected one of the X-57’s motors to various simulated flight conditions. With testing now complete, the design information will be sent to engineers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center where they continue to work toward the X-57’s first flight.”

AIRPORT NOISE REPORT Anne H. Kohut, Publisher